Leaders for Tomorrow National Scholarship Program
Working with a select group of America’s most honored institutions of higher learning, the Leaders for Tomorrow National Scholarship Program is making a significant investment in developing America’s future leaders from the ranks of deserving young people who have come from very humble and challenging beginnings. The schools identify, educate, and nurture a special group of highly talented young people into tomorrow’s leaders.
Annexstad Family Foundation Hope and Inspiration Scholarship
The Hope and Inspiration Scholarship program focuses on supporting Scholars from special communities around the country. Currently, the Foundation supports programs at Saint Peter High School in Saint Peter, MN, Kingsford High School in Kingsford, MI, Rabun County High School in Tiger, GA and at College of the Desert in California.
Marie Eustice Scholarship
Marie Eustice began her teaching career after graduating in 1927 from Mankato State Teachers College. She taught eight different grades of math, science, and English until 1938 when she married Bill Eustice. Marie raised their two children, Cathy and Bill Jr., until she returned to her love of teaching in 1953, becoming a 4th grade teacher in Belle Plaine, Minnesota.
Her caring approach to academics involved preparing her students for lifelong learning, while she developed long-lasting relationships with the families she served along the way. In the late 1950s, Minnesota established a requirement that all teachers must have bachelor’s degrees. To earn hers, Marie commuted an hour each way to what is now Minnesota State University, Mankato on nights and weekends, all the while she continued to teach full-time. On a wintry December morning in 1959, just before graduation, Marie tragically lost her life in a car accident.
In 2012, Minnesota State University, Mankato and the Annexstad Family Foundation came together to honor her memory and celebrate her legacy by establishing the Marie Eustice Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded by Minnesota State University, Mankato College of Education to a selected student in their junior year pursuing the Elementary Education Professional Program. It is given to a deserving student who has not faced the easiest path in life, but who possesses outstanding potential to become an extraordinary elementary education teacher… just as was dear Marie.
Veteran Student Scholarship
As a veteran, Al recognized the sacrifices our service men and women make for our country. Each year, AFF funds 25 Veteran Scholarships at College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California to support their career in higher education. Many scholars go on to pursue their bachelor’s degree following their graduation from College of the Desert.