A joint effort

Two hotbeds of creativity come together to inspire tomorrow's innovators

Freshman finance major Amin Aaser says, "The 3M Scholarship is why I'm at the University of Minnesota today."

Michael McGraw

From M, summer 2007

"Innovation" and "teamwork" are terms that have come to define both 3M and the University of Minnesota. Those words also describe one of their most successful partnerships: the 3M Undergraduate/Alumni Merit Scholarship program, which is marking its fifth anniversary this year.

In 2002, when 3M committed $1 million to provide a 3-to-1 match for gifts from its employees and retirees interested in supporting students at the U of M, 362 donors rallied to the cause--including more than 300 U alumni.

Since then, the 3M Scholarship has attracted 91 of the best and brightest students in business, engineering, and science to the U, and provided the resources they need to thrive in a vibrant intellectual community.

Freshman Amin Aaser is a 3M scholar studying finance in the honors program at the Carlson School. "The 3M Scholarship is why I am at the University of Minnesota today," he says. "The U of M is giving me the tools I need to succeed in the business world."

Similar tools for success prompted Robert Youngquist, B.E.E., '48, M.S., '52, to contribute to the scholarship. "The U of M played a very important role in my education and I strongly believe talented young people should have the educational opportunity I had," he says. Now retired, Youngquist spent his career as a project engineer in recording technology at 3M.

A more recent graduate and past 3M scholar, Maralyssa Bann, B.S., '06, honed the skills she gained at the U by doing Alzheimer's research at the Mayo Clinic. Next year, she'll attend medical school at Johns Hopkins. She attributes all of it to the generosity of others: "Because the University of Minnesota and 3M believed in me, I have been able to pursue the kinds of opportunities I have always dreamed of."

Meet more 3M Scholars at giving.umn.edu