Norris High School Graduates Get Scholarship Help

Graduates of Norris High School have additional help attending college because of a new endowed student scholarship provided by Robert and Marilyn McDowell of Roca with a gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation.

"I've been thinking about doing this for several years,"McDowell said. "I want to give some Nebraska kid a chance to get ahead."

Income from the Robert N. and Marilyn F. McDowell Scholarship Fund will be used to provide one or more scholarships annually to graduates of Norris High School majoring in engineering at UNL.

The first scholarship will be awarded in the spring of 2008 by the College of Engineering. First preference is given to students studying computer engineering or electrical engineering who have a composite ACT score of at least 27 and demonstrate financial need. The scholarship is renewable each year when the recipient maintains a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.

Robert McDowell grew up on a farm near Roca and graduated from Hickman High School, which later became part of the Norris School District. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska but found it difficult to manage his studies while also working full-time on his family's farm. He left school and worked for an electrical company before joining the National Guard, which enabled him to travel around the country, including to Maine where he met his wife, Marilyn.

He spent much of his life working with various electrical companies. After returning to Nebraska, he worked for Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph, as well as farming. He spent 30 years as an electrical/electronic troubleshooter.