New endowment supports band activities

Peru State College photo

PERU - A new endowment with the Peru State College Foundation will support band activities.

Steve and Laurie Schulte of Omaha credited the band endowment for both music majors and others.

Laurie, a 1983 graduate, credits her participation in band for connecting her with great people and inspiring her career as an elementary school music teacher.

Here is the college's press release

Laurie (Graham ‘83) Schulte wasn’t a music major while attending Peru State, but the instrumental music program in particular played a major role in her college and personal life.

The Omaha resident, along with husband Dr. Steve Schulte, have chosen to create the new Band Endowment through the Peru State College Foundation – and they hope others will help build the fund.

“Playing clarinet in concert band, marching band and woodwind ensemble, and either baritone sax or keyboard in jazz band, connected me to a great group of people,” Laurie said. “Later I joined the choir and show choir and became their accompanist.”

“Drs. (David) Edris, (Gil) Wilson, (Thomas) Ediger and (David) Evans helped non-music majors feel welcome – even though Doc Wilson had to convince me to work on an elementary music endorsement,” she said.

That led to her teaching elementary school and/or elementary music for 19 years, most of it at the former Peru Elementary School. In fact, that school is where she met her future husband, a dentist, when he spoke to students about dental health.

Unlike most endowments with the Peru State College Foundation, which focus on student scholarships, the Band Endowment will support band activities.

“We recognize how expensive a band program can be to implement,” she said. “We want to support the band program as a viable option for musicians to connect, both music majors and others.”

Steve’s own connection to Peru State include parents, Bill ’53 and Janice (Redfern ’52) Schulte and a grandmother Alfie (Nicholas ’26) Redfern, who attended the college. Laurie’s aunt Barb Lewellen and her late husband Bob both were longtime members of the college staff and faculty, respectively.

For Laurie, she knows firsthand “the value in having a group of ‘peeps’ - those people with whom you connect, hang out, and build as a college family” that can come from involvement in band.

As she concluded, “Rikki tikki tacky ticky sis boom bah – if you are a marching Bobcat, you know the rest! Send a check to the band endowment and please help them out.”

The Peru State College Foundation offers nearly $800,000 in scholarships annually via over 200 different awards.

Additional gifts to any of the newly endowed scholarships, or to any other endowment fund, are always welcome and can be made through the Peru State College Foundation.

You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at https://bit.ly/PSCGiving (case sensitive) or you can send a check to the PSC Foundation, PO Box 10, Peru, NE 68421-0010.

For more information or if you have questions, call 402-872-2304 or email [email protected].