University of Nebraska at Kearney

Robert Sahling says he came from “exactly nothing.”

He grew up in the Dust Bowl days on a farm near Kenesaw, Neb. His mother stuck rags into anything that resembled a crack to keep the dirt out.

I suppose I was 4 or 5 when the WPA (Works Progress Administration) came out with a program where if you needed a new outhouse they’d put one up for eight dollars – a two-holer on a concrete base with doors. I don’t know where my dad found the eight dollars, but I remember we got one.

That was a step up, believe me!

Sahling, who started the Sahling Kenworth Inc. truck dealership 40 years ago in Kearney, never went to college. Yet he’s made UNK and its student-athletes a focus of his giving, along with his Kearney church.

He gives back, he says, because he’s grateful for a great life – one he almost didn’t get to live.

Find out what almost killed him as a kid.

Her father encouraged her to go to college, get an education and become successful.

Harriett J. Steele did just that, graduating as one of only a few female students from the Ohio State University in the 1940s.

And now her daughter has established a scholarship in her name, recognizing all the success she has had.

Read more about the new scholarship honoring this woman’s life.

Pre-nursing students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney benefit from a new permanently endowed scholarship fund created especially with them in mind.

Dr. Janet Steele, professor of biology at UNK, established the fund with a $25,000 gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation and named it in honor of her mother for the many accomplishments she made throughout her life.

What would you do if a dear friend died and left you a quarter of a million dollars, with the stipulation you spend it all on charity?

This happened to Judith Henggeler Spohr, a 1963 Kearney State College graduate. (Her friend did this because he knew she had a charitable heart.)

Find out what she did with the money.

Few golf teams have anything like what the Lopers now have.

The new UNK Golf Academy, an indoor-outdoor practice facility that opened last fall at Awarii Dunes Golf Club south of Kearney, is a world-class facility on a world-class golf course.

“It’s a dream come true,” Lopers Coach Chad Lydiatt says. “And for a Division II school to have it – it’s incredible.”

This past winter, his golfers worked on their short game, chipped and putted in warmth. They raised the doors of the facility’s three bays – like three garage doors – and watched their balls fly down the driving range.

This summer, his golfers have been practicing for six, seven hours a day on 100-degree days – practicing all aspects of their games with the air conditioner set at 68.

The academy, he says, will take the Lopers to another level of play.

Milton E. Steinkruger’s 40-year career in the funeral business gave him the opportunity to help those who were grieving or struggling.

“Milton was a caring man throughout his life and eager to encourage and support others,” says his wife, Ilene Steinkruger.

While college is challenging enough for a young person, those who experience a family crisis or personal emergency may think the only solution is to drop out.

Find out what Ilene did to honor her husband and help students when perhaps it’s needed most.

After the Nama sisters’ mother passed away when they were children, their father, Frank, made sure his daughters would go on to college.

“One of his goals was that his girls get an education,” said Jean Nama, one of his daughters.

Frank’s work ethic and his belief in the power of education were instilled in his daughters at a young age.

Find out what the Namas did to honor their father.

The gift from the estate of Milton E. Steinkruger to the University of Nebraska Foundation establishes a permanently endowed scholarship fund that will enable university officials to respond to the needs of students who experience a significant hardship, such as a personal emergency or family crisis, and as a result are at risk of leaving the university. Annual income from the endowment will provide approximately $13,000 a year to the university to help students.

University of Nebraska at Kearney alumna and retired teacher Jean Nama has given a scholarship to support students who wish to further their education in Nebraska and position themselves to be educated citizens.

“I want to help some youngsters from Nebraska who have good grades and goals but need some extra help to further their education and become a contributing member of society,” said Nama, who helped found the Southern California UNK Alumni Association in the early 1970s.

The $62,000 phone call came two years ago.

The man who called Wood River Rural High School that day asked to speak to senior Abbie Davis. But Abbie wasn’t there. She was having fun in another town taking tests on music and history at an academic competition.

So a teacher called her.

As soon as you get back, the teacher said, go straight to the counselor’s office.

When Abbie walked into the office, the counselor told her to call Gary Davis at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Abbie grew excited.

Oh, man. If this is what I think it is …

Find out if it was.