Halbur University Scholarship winners recognized following Mass Sunday, April 13, at St. Augustine Catholic Church are (front, from left) Kiyah Wittrock, Marasyn Wittrock, Alanah Hausman and Emma Branning; (back, from left) Raegan Ellis, Sam Rotert and Hannah Grossman. Tim Hinners (back, right) is president of the Halbur U. Board of Deans.
Executive Editor
Halbur University Scholarship winners recognized following Mass Sunday, April 13, at St. Augustine Catholic Church are (front, from left) Kiyah Wittrock, Marasyn Wittrock, Alanah Hausman and Emma Branning; (back, from left) Raegan Ellis, Sam Rotert and Hannah Grossman. Tim Hinners (back, right) is president of the Halbur U. Board of Deans.
Halbur: Marking its 49th year, the Halbur University Scholarship program is awarding scholarships to seven high school seniors from the community.
They were recognized following Mass celebrated Sunday morning at St. Augustine Catholic Church.
Scholarship recipients, their high school, and colleges they plan to attend are:
Emma Branning, daughter of Kurt and Jackie Branning, IKM-Manning, Des Moines Area Community College
Raegan Ellis, daughter of Ryan and Jessica Borkowski, Carroll, Des Moines Area Community College
Hannah Grossman, daughter of Chad and Jennifer Grossman, Carroll, Des Moines Area Community College
Alanah Hausman, daughter of Jay and Drea Grossman, Kuemper Catholic, Des Moines Area Community College
Sam Rotert, son of Jack and Vicki Rotert, Kuemper Catholic, Buena Vista University
Kiyah and Marasyn Wittrock, twin daughters of Brian and Shannon Wittrock, Carroll, Kiyah PCI in Ankeny and Marasyn University of Florida
Each student will receive $650 following successful completion of first term of school.
Over the last 49 years, Halbur U. has awarded 343 scholarships totaling $167,550.
Applicants must live in the Halbur vicinity and complete at least 20 hours of volunteer service for the community.
Julie Clancy, a member of the Halbur U. Board of Deans, said, “As we were going through the applications this year, this was a group that really went above and beyond. There were a lot of really good civic-minded students in this group, and we’re really going to miss them. They all pretty much went way above and beyond that 20 hours. They were there for a lot of different events. They were hardworkers. We didn’t have to ask them twice. They were really a good group of kids.”
The scholarship program is named for the community’s fictional university, the brainchild of fun-loving residents and former residents. The first Halbur U. Howl was held in 1970. Halbur native William “Muddy” Testroet kicked off the scholarship fund in 1975 with a $5,000 contribution and he continued to donate generously. The program now is supported with an annual “Fun-d Night” in January, which includes a bowling tournament during the day, then a dinner and auction in the former school gym.
“We’re very proud we can give scholarships of that value to our students. We’re very fortunate for a small community to be able to do that,” Clancy said. “That’s because of the support of the community giving to the scholarship fund.”
The program shows “generations of support,” she added.
Scholarships have been awarded to two generations in some families, and Clancy said she expects third generations will be seen soon.
The program awarded scholarships for the first time in 1976, and Nancy Dentlinger and Lynn Bruch were the first recipients. The 50th anniversary of scholarship presentations will be celebrated Friday, Nov. 27, 2026, with an event at the American Legion Hall in Arcadia.
Executive Editor
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