UNK- Ravenna, Neb., residents Edwin and Roburta Marsh recently gave $10,000 to the University of Nebraska Foundation to fund an annual scholarship for future teachers. The Edwin and Roburta Marsh scholarship will be available to Ravenna High School Graduates who are interested in teaching and are enrolled in education programs at either the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“I believe very much in young people, ” said Edwin Marsh. “I’ve called Ravenna home for more than half of my life, and I want to help students in this area attend college.”
Marilyn Hadley, dean of the UNK College of Education, expressed appreciation for the gift. “This Scholarship will provide an opportunity to recruit students into areas where there are critical needs, ” she said. “Kindergarten, first and second grades are important for developing literacy skills and the recipients of this scholarship will play a key role in that development.”
Marsh agrees and is grateful that the University prepares students to become quality teachers. “During those three grades, children learn to read and I feel it’s important that children get those skills from good teachers, ” he said. Edwin Marsh has close ties to the education profession. He is a 1929 graduate of Arthur County High School where he trained to be a teacher. He taught at a number of schools in Arthur and Keith counties, when top salaries were $50 to $60 a month.
While working as a teacher, Marsh took classes toward an education degree primarily during the summers, so he could continue teaching during the school year. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in education from Kearney State Teacher’s College (now UNK) in 1948, and a few years later, a professor inspired him to obtain a master’s degree to be more competitive in the field. Upon completion of his master’s program at Greeley State College of Education in 1954, he was a principal and teacher in four high schools. Marsh retired in 1977 after a 41-year career in education.
Edwin and Roburta Marsh met during the summer of 1936, while both were working on a ranch in Western Nebraska, and were married two years later. Roburta Marsh is the mother to the couple’s six children who now live in different areas of the United States.
The University of Nebraska Foundation is a non-profit corporation supplementing support for students, faculty, facilities, and programs at the University of Nebraska’s four campuses through gifts from alumni, friends, corporations and other foundations.
