By Robyn Murray
Donor Support Encourages Promising Students to Stay in Nebraska
Holden Mundorf is in his third year of college, but he’s already a senior at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. A business administration major from Valentine, Mundorf got ahead with college credits in high school and then worked all through his summer breaks to complete his coursework. He’s working fast, because he’s got big places to go.
“I’d like to start out as maybe a county commissioner and work my way up,” Mundorf said. “Governor is probably my end goal, but maybe a U.S. senator.”
Mundorf has already proved himself to be hard-working, a top student and a budding leader. He was class president in high school and president of the National Honor Society; he completed his associate degree at Northeast Community College with a 4.0 GPA and made the dean’s list at UNK; and he wrestled, played football and ran track and cross country in high school.
Mundorf’s skills and experiences were recognized when he was awarded the Ron & Carol Cope UNK Scholarship, which is provided to select students who demonstrate leadership potential and high academic achievement. But in addition to recognizing the hard work he has put into his academic career, Mundorf said the scholarship relieved a significant financial burden.
“It was a very big relief to get the scholarship,” Mundorf said. “I will graduate this spring semester with next to zero debt from my undergrad, which has helped tremendously.”
Mundorf plans to pursue his master’s degree after graduation and then his juris doctorate. He hopes to serve as an attorney in a city such as Lincoln or Omaha before moving back to Valentine.
Plans like those give Jerry Catlett, a business leader and University of Nebraska Foundation Trustee, hope for the future. A 1982 graduate of UNK, then Kearney State College, Catlett has made outright gifts and a planned gift to support UNK’s College of Business and Technology. He wants to support the college in encouraging more young people to live and work in rural Nebraska.
“The opportunities are there,” Catlett said. “For rural Nebraska kids to stay here, we’ve got to get them to go to school here. And, sometimes, financial help is what it takes.”
Catlett said he felt it was important to give back to his alma mater, which provided the foundation for his career. A successful banker in Bruning, Nebraska, Catlett is thankful to several instructors at UNK who prepared him for the business world, which at the time was struggling with high unemployment.
“It was very helpful to think about what the reality was,” Catlett said. “It laid the foundation about hard work and also that you have to continue to learn or you won’t get ahead.”
Like Mundorf, Catlett grew up in a small rural Nebraska town. His family had a farm in Custer County, and his father traded in cattle. When Catlett was in high school, his parents became ill, and the expenses tore through their life savings.
“That leaves a mark,” Catlett said. “But it teaches lessons, too.”
Catlett’s parents encouraged him to further his education, believing it to be a means of leveling the playing field and a source of opportunity.
“I’ve had lots of great mentors, my parents being two of them,” Catlett said. “Other family members, my siblings, my football coaches, a lot of people in business and the community. They weren’t doing it for the notoriety. They were doing it because they were good people, and I hope that they saw some potential and wanted to encourage me to do better.”
Catlett took those lessons to heart. Guided by his faith and with the support of his wife, Jill, who he said “has inspired me to be a better version of myself,” Catlett made it a priority to give back to the next generation — not just financially but by helping to set up internships through his professional connections and at Bruning Bank.
“I’m so impressed with how smart and focused these students are,” Catlett said. “I see bright futures for them.”
Mundorf has also gained internship experience while at UNK. Last summer, he interned at U.S. Cellular – Huskerland Communications in Valentine. UNK’s College of Business and Technology prioritizes internship experience for students and was recognized as “best in class” by peer institutions in the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In the 2023-2024 school year, the college placed a record-breaking 145 students in internships across sectors.
Catlett, who also supports Loper Athletics and the Trustees Fund for the Future, said if financial support and real-world opportunities help promising students like Mundorf, they are worth the down payment.
“When you meet those kids, you think, ‘Yeah, this was a good investment,’” Catlett said. “Helping these kids with scholarships and internships is going to be really good for them and really good for Nebraska.”
“When you meet those kids, you think, ‘Yeah, this was a good investment.”
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