It was only after a lot of years had gone by that Bernard Scallon (Bernie) realized how fortunate he was to have had the opportunity to pursue the education he wanted. “Too many people today do not have that same opportunity, or they must incur substantial personal debt to get the education they want,” Bernie said. “My wife, Hân Trinh, and I have a wish to help those high school graduates who want to get a college degree but have serious concerns about the costs.”

Bernie grew up on a farm northeast of Ackley, the same area where his great-grandparents created their life together. The Scallon and Kenefick families were both among the earliest settlers around Ackley, with a young Hugh George Scallon and the head of the Kenefick family both buying large tracts of land northeast of the young town in 1867. Hugh George later married the youngest daughter in the Kenefick family, Elizabeth, and the two went on to have ten children together between 1877 and 1895. Their belief in the importance of an education, even as farmers in the 1800s in a rural community, was apparent in two ways: first, by the fact that numerous newspaper snippets from at least the early 1890s and into the 1930s referred to one Ackley school district as the Scallon District, which was indicative of the family’s enablement of the nearby country school and, second, by their support for their children’s education.

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The Hugh George and Elizabeth Scallon Scholarship Criteria

This scholarship is available to students meeting the following criteria:

• Must be a graduating senior of AGWSR High School in Ackley, IA.
• Must demonstrate financial need.
• Priority given to students seeking an undergraduate degree in education or a STEM field (science, technology, engineering, mathematics).