Three New Scholarships Award $3,000 to North Dakota Students

Three North Dakota students just received life-changing news: they're the first-ever recipients of scholarships created to honor community members who left lasting legacies.

The Minot Area Community Foundation announced the inaugural awards from three newly established funds, totaling $3,000 in support. Each scholarship reflects the values of someone who made a difference, now transformed into educational opportunities.

Tate Heer of Douglas received $1,500 from the Terry Boe Memorial Scholarship to study electrical linework at Bismarck State College. The fund honors Boe, a Minot native who spent his career championing skilled trades with pride and craftsmanship.

Evelyn Isaak of Drake was awarded $500 from the James Lowe Memorial Scholarship to pursue social work and criminal justice at Minot State University. This fund specifically supports LGBTQIA+ students with financial need, continuing Lowe's legacy of inclusion and support.

Olivia Fahy of Anamoose received $1,000 from the Pathways Legacy Scholarship to study biology at the University of North Dakota. The fund celebrates the dedication of community volunteers and educators who spent years creating opportunities for local students.

"We are thrilled to see these three new scholarship funds make their first awards and begin creating a lasting impact for local students," said Jason Zimmerman, president of the Minot Area Community Foundation. Each fund channels the passions of the people they honor directly into helping students achieve their dreams.

The Ripple Effect

These three new funds join a growing wave of educational support flowing through the Minot area. In 2026 alone, the foundation awarded more than $98,000 in scholarships to area high school seniors.

Since the scholarship program launched in 2008, the foundation has distributed over $1.1 million to local students. That's hundreds of young people who received the financial boost needed to pursue training, degrees, and careers that might otherwise have remained out of reach.

The new funds show how communities can turn grief and remembrance into forward momentum. Terry Boe's commitment to skilled trades now helps aspiring electricians. James Lowe's advocacy for LGBTQIA+ youth continues through Evelyn's social work education. Decades of volunteer work by unnamed educators lives on through Olivia's biology studies.

These aren't just one-time awards. As endowment funds, they'll continue supporting students year after year, creating ripples of opportunity that extend far beyond the individuals being honored.

Three students, three different paths, one shared reality: their communities believed in them enough to invest in their futures.