A gift to this fund bolsters the general student scholarship aid available to students within any UNK college.
Seeing your classmates and friends have their lives planned out while you are still trying to figure out yours can be frustrating. That’s a feeling University of Nebraska at Kearney student Isabel Zaruba was all too familiar with.
“By November of my senior year, everyone knew what career path they wanted to take,” Zaruba said. “I didn’t even know what state I wanted to be in, let alone what school I wanted to attend.”
Even though Zaruba was highly involved in high school, she had no idea what her future held.
“I was captain of the cheer squad, president of the student council, president of HOSA, a member of NHS and played sports,” Zaruba said. “I enjoyed being involved, but I did not know what I wanted to do with my life.”
"I enjoyed being involved, but I did not know what I wanted to do with my life."
It wasn’t until Zaruba volunteered at her local hospital that something clicked. She connected with many people in the physical therapy clinic, who encouraged her to explore the medical field. “The medical field has always been in the back of my mind,” Zaruba said. “Volunteering showed me how health care is a welcoming community, and I began to see myself working in it.”
She applied to UNK because it’s the school her family attended. “When I started receiving scholarships, I was getting really excited about Kearney,” Zaruba said. “I decided to visit campus and realized I loved the people, the faculty and the community.”
Zaruba has no specific major outlined but is on the pre-med track. Without scholarships, Zaruba wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the many programs offered at the College of Arts and Sciences. “Thanks to my scholarships and donors, it was amazing knowing I would not have to pay a dime,” Zaruba said.
Zaruba plans on attending the University of Nebraska Medical Center to eventually become a doctor. “Without donor support, I would not be at UNK studying what I truly want to do,” Zaruba said.
During this process, Zaruba learned to be patient because it is okay not to have your whole life planned out. People’s plans change every day, every hour and every minute.
To see more students like Isabel Zaruba succeed, consider making a gift of any amount to the UNK Fund – Student Scholarships.
"Without donor support, I would not be at UNK studying what I truly want to do."
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