Edwin F. and Eunice F. Wambsganss

Changing Lives by: establishing the Edwin F. and Eunice F. Wambsganss Engineering Scholars and an additional bequest to create the Edwin F. and Eunice F. Wambsganss Engineering Scholarship.

K-State connection: In 1959, Ed entered K-State in 1959 after attending Emporia State University for two years and studied pre-engineering. Between his junior and senior years at K-State , Ed married Eunice, a native of Elmdale, Kan. Their first child, Teresa, was born in Manhattan in August 1961, and Ed graduated from K-State the next year.

Why they gave: For Ed and Eucine, a purple-and white card issued by the K-State Budget Office, served as a wake up call about the decreasing role of state funding in public education. “Printed on this little card is the fact that 25.8 percent of K-State’s funding comes from state appropriations and 41.2 percent comes from gifts, grants and research contracts,” he said. “I never knew that prior to getting this card. I realized that, if there are not people who are willing to help, K-State wouldn’t be able to exist.”

Impact/Why it matters: This fall, 10 K-State College of Engineering students received scholarships thanks to the Wambsgansses.

What people are saying: “Being a Wambsganss scholar has given me an opportunity to really focus on my education, instead of having to work constantly,” said Allyson Slupianek, a civil engineering major from Marysville, Kan. “I have been able to study for my classes and become involved in extra-curricular [activities]. Without the scholarship, I would have never been able to become involved in the concrete canoe team. There just would not have been enough time to do it and work.”