NEODESHA — Neodesha USD 461 celebrated five years of promises kept through a charitable fund that’s helping qualifying district students reach for their dreams through post-secondary education.
The Neodesha Promise Scholarship Program, which was announced in 2019 and started helping 2020 graduates, has helped at least 148 Neodesha students attend a trade schools, community colleges or universities by paying tuition and mandatory fees for up to 120 credit hours for a bachelor’s degree or up to 60 credit hours for an associate’s degree or technical certification. Scholarships are capped at the highest tuition at a public Kansas college, which is $409 a credit hour charged at the University of Kansas. The total amount given so far is at least $950,000.
A Promise official said about 70% of Neodesha students take advantage of the program.
Students must meet academic standards and other program requirements to qualify, including working at least 50 community service hours during their high school career. The scholarship can be used anywhere as long as the university is U.S. Pell Grant approved. The program administrator follows scholarship recipients through post-secondary schooling, keeping up on their grades and helping them land their first job after graduation, including looking at opportunities at home. The recipients must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA to continue to qualify for the scholarship.
Neodesha alum Ben Cutler started the scholarship program that is funded by the Marilyn Crum Cutler Charitable Foundation. The scholarship program could run for at least 25 years.
On Tuesday, a celebration of the program took place in the Neodesha High School auditorium, attended by Cutler and his wife, the student body and several state officials.
USD 461 Superintendent Juanita Erickson spoke about the bold idea that invested in students’ and the community’s futures. The scholarship offers hope and opportunity.
“Together we’ll continue to expand opportunities, break down barriers and ensure that every student in Neodesha has the chance to realize their full potential and reach for the standard of excellence.”
She noted accomplishments of NHS students including the volleyball team finishing in fourth place in the state, the highest finish ever for the program. The district opened an early learning center for youth from birth to age 5 that also gives kids access to child care. The district schools are also being recognized for academic, social and emotional growth and graduation rates.
Jim Porter, the District 9 representative on the Kansas State Board of Education serving his fourth term, introduced the next speaker, Randy Watson, the commissioner of education for Kansas.
Watson said he was raised in Coffeyville and he’s noticed a
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change in Neodesha since the Promise Scholarship.
“It’s transforming, and you can start to see it, and you can start to feel it, and you can sense it,” he said.
He recognized the volleyball team, the seniors and Tucker Leck for his accomplishments in FFA. He said these accomplishments are laying the groundwork for future students and athletes. He thanked Ben and Becky Cutler for their generosity and their vision.
Watson told the students that some will stay in Neodesha forever, some will move away and come back and others will live in other cities or states.
“But this place will have prepared you well, and this opportunity of the Promise Scholarship will give you the opportunity to do what you want to do in the future,” Watson said. “You are changing not only the lives of all of you, you’re setting forth a change in culture in Neodesha that is being felt today but will be accelerated over the next five years when we come back to celebrate year 10.”
Ben Cutler recognized the Promise board that helped develop the program in the beginning and helped it succeed in the years since. He also recognized Rebekah Peitz, the Promise director, for her hard work with the students.
Cutler, a retired businessman, heard about Promise programs in other areas of the country and decided to create one for his beloved hometown of Neodesha, a place that his mother, Marilyn, also held dear.
He told students about his visits to Africa to take pictures. He’s participated in more than 300 game drives to collect photos of animals and Africa. He shared the story of the umbrella thorn acacia tree, which can be found in the fossil record as long as 25 million years ago. The tree has adapted to its harsh environment and survives and thrives. It has deep tap roots that allow it to survive droughts. The roots also give the tree stability.
“It’s one of the few trees in Africa that elephants can’t knock down,” he said.
The tree also has pharmaceutical value, and its resins can be used in gum and adhesives. Giraffes love to eat its leaves, but only a few at a time. The acacia sends out a toxin to its leaves that limits this feeding so the tree can survive. Acacia trees also have a way to communicate information to other acacia trees and even share nutrients with struggling sister trees, he said.
“Pretty smart trees when you think about it,” he said.
While the tree has evolved to what it is today, students don’t have that kind of time to find themselves. The Promise program can help as most graduates will need post secondary schooling of some type.
“We’ve designed our Promise program to not only help you find that right pathway that is uniquely suited to you, but also to reduce some of the financial stress that you’re going to go through when you get into that post secondary program,” Cutler said.
He encouraged students to enjoy their school years but to remember to study and learn.
“Recognize the reason you are here is to learn. So please take your studies seriously. Spend time to gather that information and knowledge that you’re going to need to hopefully be your own unique version” of the umbrella acacia tree.
“Becky and I can’t wait to work with you over the next five years.”
Ashley Chandler spoke last. She is a 2020 graduate of NHS and is a graduate research assistant in agronomy at Kansas State University. She specializes in soils and environmental science. She was among the first Promise Scholarship recipients.
She told the Neodesha students that it was OK to not know what they are doing all the time. Being an adult is complicated and attending school can be overwhelming. The scholarship is a wonderful gift and can diminish some angst.
“You’re going to have days when nothing goes right. I know you probably have days like that now, but it’s a little scarier when you’re out on your own,” Chandler said.
While an argument with a roommate, a broken coffee maker, or concerns about taking a test seem small, they add up and can make students feel overwhelmed at times.
“But you don’t have to know. You have to get through those things, like, one at a time, right?” she said. “It’s OK to ask for help.”
She credited school officials and Peitz as being great resources for her.
“And you have to trust that as a person, that your people are going to get you back on track,” Chandler said.
She remembers in 2019 hearing about the Promise Scholarship in the auditorium and crying. She cried because of what the opportunity could mean to so many people and the community.
That day shaped her journey.
“And it’s not just a financial break. It’s a chance to believe that I could do more, be more and go further than I thought possible. And I hope the same for each and every one of you. It’s not just about paying for college,” she said.
She encouraged students to try something new and challenging.
“Because the only person stopping you is yourself. And, well, we all believe in you.
“ And I’m here to tell you you’ve got this. Because you’ve been given a gift, a chance to right the boat, to empire and to build something truly extraordinary. We believe in you. I believe in you. Now it’s your turn to believe in yourself,” Chandler said.
After the celebration, Cutler, who now lives in Arizona but returns to Neodesha often, and others spoke with the media about the program and its future.
Cutler said in the five years since the program started that Neodesha has seen an 8% increase in enrollment. He said he sees the school system doing a better job of preparing kids for post-secondary opportunities. The scholarship program has also made Neodesha an attractive home for families. He said he’s seen young families move to Neodesha because of the Promise program and its opportunities for their children.
Neodesha also has a housing initiative in place to give these new families a place to live.
“I’m excited about what we’ve done, but I’m going to be more excited about what the next five years are going to look like. it’s going to be a fun time to be in Neodesha.”
He said when he was working in the New York City financial district in his 30s, he and his coworkers shared stories of where they grew up. He said he realized how lucky he was to live in a small community.
“It gave me a very strong moral compass, gave me a work ethic. If I couldn’t outthink the guys I was working with I could sure as heck outwork them. And so I’ve always felt that I owed this city something, I owed the community something for what it gave me. And so the Promise program has allowed me to come back to my hometown and hopefully do something positive. It’s been a labor of love,” Cutler said.
Standard Oil was in the community in his youth as well as other opportunities. The company employed executives and engineers. The community at the time was more focused on kids and providing opportunities for secondary education. When the refinery closed the community became less focused on those opportunities for youth.
“My hope was that we could begin to make a difference with these kids, seeing there’s a big opportunity out there for you to just take advantage of it, and I think we’re seeing the community respond to that,” Cutler said.
Now more parents are getting involved with their kids and the opportunities that await them. “I think the kids themselves are getting better prepared. I think the school is doing a much better job today than it was five years ago in getting these kids prepared. There’s a lot more we can be doing,” Cutler said.
He has high hopes for the program. He wants every Neodesha student to find success in a post secondary program and get a good job and raise a family.
“I’d like to see Neodesha become the best community in the Midwest for young families. This is the place you want to come to raise your kids, because we’ve got a great education program. We’ve got great schools. We’ve got a great community that welcomes new arrivals. So that’s where I hope we go,” he said.
“We’ve made some wonderful progress, but we have a long way to go.”
Ashton Brooks, another 2020 graduate of NHS, is a student at Emporia State University, studying business administration with a concentration in financial services. She hopes to return to Wilson County and be a loan officer upon graduation. She works for Community National Bank and Trust in Fredonia and she would like to continue there after graduation.
She is thankful for the Promise program and the strong support system it created for students after high school.
“Rebekah Peitz has been a huge help in getting everything figured out for a lot of us students who were first generation,” Brooks said. Peitz also has regular check ins with students in college.
Tucker Leck is a Neodesha senior and will seek a Promise Scholarship to attend Kansas State University or Notre Dame. He will find out next month on which. He noted a change in the culture at Neodesha High School. Students are buying into their academic futures and are working to overcome hurdles.
He credited Cutler and his leadership for starting the community and school down this path toward building something important and long lasting. Investing in your community is key.
“Get involved in your education as a priority today. That’s what’s really important to me and really important to a lot of my student body,” Leck said.
He wants to major in political science with minors in global affairs and Spanish. He also hopes to get into law school.
After law school, he said he would apply some of the same community principles he’s seen in Neodesha by returning and fighting for the farmer and rancher or agriculturalist whose rights are too often overstepped.
“That’s something that the Promise Scholarship is going to make possible, because it’s going to allow us to invest in that academic future, to invest in our future without having the financial burden. And I think that’s something that’s awesome. I can’t thank Mr. Cutler enough for what he’s done for us students and for the entire student body who will be leading this school for the next 20 years,” Leck said.
He said his No. 1 goal is to have a family and be a good father to children.
“When that happens, then everything else falls in line,” Leck said.
Juanita Erickson, the USD 461 superintendent, also noted the change in the school district, the students and community because of Cutler’s investment in the children’s and community’s future.
“It’s a gift that many people don’t realize the impact of until they have kids that are going through high school,” Erickson said. Students start seeing a connection between their dreams and making them happen through Promise. Peitz and others help the students piece those dreams together. The district has many other scholarship opportunities outside of the Promise Scholarship as well.
More students are taking dual credit courses in high school, earning college credits. Some are earning an associate’s degree the same month that they graduate from high school. When they do this, the Promise program can help pay for master’s degree programs as well because they cut two years out of a four-year degree while in high school.
“If they do what they need to do, they’re able to pay for all of their schooling through that scholarship. It’s amazing what we’ve been able to do along the way with the program,” Erickson said.
