AC
Amber Collins
  • child, youth and family studies
  • Class of 2017
  • Columbus, Nebraska

Amber Collins of Plymouth earns $2,500 scholarship

2016 Nov 17

Amber Collins of Plymouth has earned a $2,500 Whitmer Early Childhood Education Scholarship. Collins is a senior in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Education and Human Sciences.

Mae Whitmer of Lincoln recently established the Bill and Mae Whitmer Early Childhood Education Scholarship Fund as a permanently endowed fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation. The scholarship was created in memory of her husband, a Nebraska alumnus and the former owner of ABC Electric of Lincoln, who died in 2012.

Mae Whitmer was inspired to create the scholarship because of Prosper Lincoln and its efforts to enhance what the community offers in early childhood education, employment skills and innovation.

"We need more teachers who are trained and qualified to meet the special needs of early childhood education, and I wanted to do something that aligned with Prosper Lincoln and its admirable efforts in this very important area," she said.

Scholarships such as this are helping to build a skilled, informed and diverse early childhood workforce in Nebraska, said Richard Bischoff, the Gwendolyn A. Newkirk Professor and chair of the Child, Youth and Family Studies department.

"We're deeply grateful to Mae Whitmer and her family for this generous gift," Bischoff said. "It is timely and relevant. The impact of the gift will expand beyond dollars for tuition to inspire teaching excellence, which makes a difference for young children, their families and teachers."