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Frandsen Bank is giving two years of tuition-free state technical college to practically every Ely Memorial High School 2024 graduate who applies for the scholarship.
It is the first year the fullride scholarships have been offered to Ely graduates, but it won’t be the last.
“This scholarship is continuous. It will be offered to this year’s grad class, next year’s grad class, and the grad classes to come. The future grad classes will have the same opportunity as this year’s,” said the president of the Ely branch, Greg Buckley.
All 12 applicants who applied for the scholarship this year out of the 2024 Ely Memorial High graduating class are receiving the scholarship.
Part of what makes the scholarship so attractive to graduates is the lenient nature of the requirements to receive the full ride, and how easy Frandsen made it to fill out an application.
“There’s zero requirements, so there’s no GPA requirement, and there’s no family income requirement,” said Buckley. “If you apply and the program you do is eligible, you’ll be approved for the full tuition.”
‘It’s a one-page application. It couldn’t be simpler,” said Tom Omerza, vice president of the Ely branch. “Basically, you just fill out your name, address, contact information and the school and field that you want to get into and turn it in, and then we do the rest.”
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be enrolled in a non-associate of arts program at any Minnesota State or other approved technical college, beginning in the semester following receipt of a high school diploma.
For each academic year, the student must complete a current FAFSA and enroll full-time (minimum 12 credits per semester) in a non-associate of arts program.
The scholarship will be renewed for a second academic year if the student completes 24 credits during the first academic year, achieves a minimum GPA of 2.0 at the end of the first academic year, meets with an academic advisor at least once each semester, and successfully completes a first-year experience course if one is available.
A few of the applicants this year from Ely were set to attend schools not on the approved list but were approved regardless.
“Some of the 12 applicants are going to a school that’s not on that list, and they still got approved after review,” said Omerza. “As long as the program meets the two-year technical program, they are accepted.”
The scholarship program was started as a way for the bank founder, Dennis Frandsen, to give back to the communities he does business in.
“Dennis (Frandsen) wanted to be able to contribute to the communities that he does business in, and by putting a concentration on technical programs, when these students graduate, they can immediately be hired for critical jobs in their community,” said Buckley.
These trade jobs are becoming increasingly valuable to our economy on a nationwide and a small-town scale. “I think what’s great about this program is the emphasis on the trades,” said Omerza. “Here in Ely, who do we need to come to work for us in our small businesses? It’s the plumbers, the electricians, the home builders. Everybody we’re short on is what this program’s helping to provide to eliminate the short supply of jobs that we have.”
This isn’t the only school Frandsen is doing this scholarship program for, as there are 10 other schools in the Midwest with the same program.
In addition to the full ride to the technical two-year program, Frandsen also provides $1,000 for books, tools, or anything else students need to complete the degree.
When Frandsen made the announcement, the scholarships would be available to the class of 2024, it was met with excitement from much of the class.
“Nobody was jumping up and down because they’re teenagers, but they really perked up,” said Omerza. “I think we did a good job driving home that this is free tuition for up to two years. Most of them came and got the information for the scholarship.”
Four graduates from Ely Memorial High School who are receiving the full-ride scholarship spoke about what it meant to them.
“I was very excited,” said Matthew Johnson.
Johnson will be attending Minnesota North Hibbing Campus in the fall and will looking to get a two-year technical degree in automotive tech.
“It’s amazing to be getting the financial support,” said Izzy Schiltz.
Schiltz isn’t 100% sure what she wants to get her degree in yet, but is gravitating toward health care, and wants to work at the hospital this summer to gain experience.
“I was shocked. I didn’t think I was going to get any scholarships,” said Rose Schlosser.
Schlosser will pursuing her degree in wildlife and natural resource technology at Minnesota North Vermilion Campus and thinks she may want to work for the DNR.
“It was a relief because now I’m going to have some pocket money to do more activities and be able to get more involved,” said Ty Walker.
Walker will be attending Wadena Minnesota State Technical Community College in the fall and is going to school for a two-year technical degree to be an electrical lineman and work on power lines.
All four students wanted to thank Dennis Frandsen for the scholarships, and also Tom Omerza and Greg Buckley for educating them about the scholarships.
“Hopefully a chunk of them come back and become part of the Ely community and raise a family here and get a job here and buy a house here,” said Omerza.
