Faster Development

Janet Jasper at her home in Duluth.

Photo by Brett Groehler

From M, fall 2004

Janet Jasper earned a degree in accounting from UMD in 1967, but she could have graduated much sooner if she'd known about the scholarships that were available to her. Jasper had been taking night school classes diligently for four years--earning about a year's worth of credit--when her adviser, John Dettman, encouraged her to apply for a $300 scholarship from the National Society of Secretaries. "It wasn't much, but it was enough to cover tuition," she recalls. She was able to leave her day job to concentrate on school full-time.

Jasper, who worked in accounting for years before becoming an owner of Northern Photo in Duluth, says she's always been grateful for the opportunities that the scholarship gave her. "I wanted to help other accounting students," Jasper says. To that end, she endowed the Janet Jasper Scholarship, which provides $1,000 to a student in his or her senior year. "I know what it's like to scramble for money," she says. "I know how much a scholarship can mean to students."