It wasn’t the largest scholarship, but it sent a huge message.

Pay it forward.

It’s an Anderson family thing.

As English was preparing to announce the recipient, she explained that she and her brother had started the scholarship when their grandparents, Wayne and Marlene Anderson, gave them money each year at Thanksgiving. The one requirement was that they were to report back to their grandparents how they spent the money at Christmas.

“We were told to pay it forward,” she said.

“Our grandparents gave money to all their grandchildren,” said English, “Jordan and I are the only ones that gave money to the scholarship fund.”

The other family members who received money from their grandparents all did something philanthropic each year.

“Jordan and I give at least a portion of our money to the scholarship every year,” she said. “My parents have also given some of their money over the years.”

Through this tradition, the whole family has found charities that they hold near and dear and they each typically give a portion of their money to that each year.

“We started the scholarship fund in 2012 or 2013 and we let it grow for 10 years before we started distribution,” she said.

The importance of these scholarship dollars has only become greater since she has gotten older, she said. The cost of attending school, whether trade or college has gotten so expensive, it’s hard not to have debt at graduation. There are few communities who offer as much assistance as the Webster City schools have been able to offer.

“I live in Williams, so this was originally started for Northeast Hamilton students,” she explained “Since they merged districts, originally our rule was to give it to someone who came from the Northeast Hamilton schools, but now we have opened it up.”

“I don’t think they understand how important these scholarships are and don’t apply, ” she said. “Our goal was to help teach younger kids about financial literacy.”

English and her brother took time to talk to younger children about finance and explained about the scholarship before they even began distributing it.

“We went to the school at Northeast and talked to the second grade class,” she said. “We told them ‘when you are a senior you can apply for it.'”

The $2,000 scholarship that was presented this year may change depending on the amount it grows, but their message was clear during the presentation during the Awards Night.

“We hope you will pay it forward,” she urged the graduating seniors.

Cessna/Iowa Central scholarships add to total

Graduates of the Webster City High School collected a tremendous number of awards during Senior Award night on May 13, and we reported on over $105,000 in scholarship money distributed.

There were two large groups of scholarships which were not included in the first article. Those were the Cessna scholarships and the Iowa Central scholarships. 30 additional scholarships were awarded to students who will be attending Iowa Central, which totals over $20,000 to the Webster City High School students.

The Cessna awards totalled an additional $31,500 for Webster City graduates. In addition, students who graduated from Webster City High School in the past can also re-apply each year for up to 4 years to assist them with their studies. There is no time limit as to when those four years are up, so a graduate in 2015, who has just decided to attend college or a trade school can apply at the Webster City administration office for funding assistance.

One of the largest scholarship presentations were the Cessna scholarships. Each year since 1975, there have been departmental awards given to students for excellence in their given areas. There were 12 departmental awards given with a scholarship of $275 to each student named. Those are:

Agricultural Sciences — Brayden Burtnett

Agricultural Mechanics — Kyzer Zinnel

Art — Marley Runyan

Business Education — Cole Nohrenberg

English — Malikye Evans

Social Studies — Heidi Mendoza

Family & Consumer Science — Jayme Perez-Fernandez

Music — Evangeline Streigle

P.E./Athletics — Gavin Wynkoop

Science — Jay Wiese

Math — Josslyn Carden

Spanish — Jameson Stansfield

Those who earned a 3.75 grade point average received a $600 Cessna Scholarship. Twenty students earned that scholarship. They are: Brooklyn Neddermeyer, Ashlee Nydegger, Nicholas H. Smith, Benjamin Youngdale, Jackson Barner, Janey Putney, Aiden Hrnicek, Wilmer Padilla Chavez, Destiny Cortes, Clara Grossoehme, Regan Blaisdell, Arlen Lake, Alivia Hector, Jasmin Venegas, Jackson Meyer, Sean Morgan, Addelyn Pruismann, Morgan Hackbarth, Justin Callahan and Rinoa Raygor.

Students who earned a 3.4 to 3.749 grade point average received $400 each. An additional 24 students earned that award. They are: Josslyn Carden, Jameson Stansfield, Sylvia Otteros, Hailey Brim, Jay Wiese, Cole Nohrenberg, Bria Wallerich, Braylon Dyvig, Camdyn Coons, Alivia Burns, Aaron Mourton, Maja Gordon, Marley Runyan, Brayden Burtnett, Malikye Evans, Ellie Peterson, Beau Nohrenberg, Lillian Irving, Jayme Perez-Fernandez, Jaysen Vankham, Salena Inthisane, Alexandra Severe, Carter Mickelson and Margarita Perez Raymundo.

All other Webster City High School graduates with a grade point average under 3.4 are also eligible for a $300 scholarship if they go to a college or trade school and complete the application.

The Cessna awards in 2026 could potentially award over $52,000 to the graduating class of 2026, with over $31,000 going to the top 44 students.

The Iowa Central Scholarships were also announced during the Senior Awards program. These are all awarded to students attending Iowa Central. The merit scholarship are for a minimum of $500 each, and students may receive more depending on grade point average at graduation. Those scholarships are as follows:

Merit Scholarships went to Cael Alexander, Hayley Becker, Dawson Bertran, Avril Borjas, Aliva Burns, Connor Caquelin, Josslyn Carden, Emily Carrasco, Alleyna Dawson, Malikye Evans, Cindy Gomez Lopez, Kaylee Kohl, Kenley Koop, Gavin Malloy, Heidi Mendoza, Carter Mickelson, Sean Morgan, Aaron Mourton, Colin Mulligan, Wilmer Padilla Chavez, Addelyn Pruismann, Adison Punkham, Angel Ramirez Trujillo, Emma Schelle, Breanna Somvong, Valeria Terrones Rodriguez, Jaysen Vankham, Brianna Vindel Ayala, Hunter Vue and Bria Wallerich.

Additional scholarships from Iowa Central went to:

Alivia Burns — Sulzbach Health and Bioscience scholarship — $1,000

Kenley Koop — Curtis Bowman scholarship for nursing — New this year, amount not known

Sean Morgan — Bob Kordik, Jr. Tool Belt scholarship — $2,000

Wilmer Padilla Chavez — Hopper & Pearson Family Scholarship — $500 and the Terry Condon Diesel/Agriculture memorial scholarship — $500

Brianna Vindel Ayala — Mark J. Smith Endowed scholarship — $1,000

Morgan Hackbarth — Jolyn Frederickson nursing scholarship — $750

In addition there were awards of excellence that were not tied to scholarships. Those were

Quill & Scroll to Hailey Brim, Destiny Cortes, Clara Grossoehme, Ashlee Nydegger, Jayme Perez-Fernandez.

The WCTV award was given to Evangeline Streigle.

The E. Wayne Cooley Award was given to Ashley Nydegger

The IAHSAA Bernie Saggau Award was given to Aiden Hrnicek.

The Lisa Brinkmeyer Award was given to Alivia Burns

4 Sport Letter Winners went to Alivia Burns, Jaxon Griffith and Carter Mickelson

3 Sport Letter Winners were given to Dawson Bertran, Aiden Hrnicek, Cole Nohrenberg, Ashlee Nydegger and Gavin Wynkoop.

Inspirational peer Mentor awards were given to Haley Becker, Emily Carrasco, Alexis Hagar, Madison Iles, Lillian Iring, Kaitlyn Leavy and Sarah Morgan.

ELPA awards were given to Wilmer Padilla Chavez, Jayme Perez-Fernandez, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Litzi Fierro Canel, Destiny Cortes, Salena Inthisane and Jaysen Vankham

The Seal of Biliteracy awards: Arlen Lake, Sylvia Otteros, Wilmer Padilla Chavez, Alexandra Severe and Jameson Stansfield.

Webster City graduates were awarded around $200,000 between all the awards presented during the Senior Awards Night. Some amounts are still being calculated, and some are unknown yet from local churches and outlying organizations.

The support and assistance for furthering education in 2026 sets this community apart from many.

When examining the financial support, and consider that having a community college is available for classes while still in high school earning college credit and that same college allows students to live at home for a few more years, our students should not have the extreme debt after college that many college students face.

The opportunities for expanding knowledge and building on their educational base that exist in Webster City far exceed most communities in Iowa, and perhaps most across the country.