The Dorothy L. Bender Scholarship Fund

Dorothy L. Bender was born in Milford, Nebraska in 1914 and attended a country school (District #47) outside of Milford.  In the late 1920’s and the 30’s, not many girls went on to high school and Dorothy was no exception.  However, at the age of 34 in 1948, she entered Hesston College without her high school diploma and graduated from Hesston with her Associate’s Degree in 1950.

In that same year, she began a teaching career that would eventually span 34 years.  She taught both in Nebraska and in Nampa, Idaho, as well as taking a missionary teaching assignment in Nairobi, Kenya.  Along with her teaching, she continued her own education by earning her Bachelor’s Degree from Goshen College in 1956 and then later, her Masters’ degree from the University of Nebraska.

Dorothy’s philosophy was “a teacher is an engineer, working with the most priceless undeveloped material in all of God’s creation – the child.”  She was also a dedicated Christian and her Christian values and beliefs always came through to her students.  It’s because of her background, her philosophy and who she was that makes it natural that she would want to help students from Nebraska and those who are studying to become teachers.