Scholarship Allows Student to Gain Hands-On Experience
“I was excited to receive a scholarship. It enabled me to volunteer and gain more experience and education.”
—Dana Tolle
Growing up, Dana Tolle loved being active. She played soccer, she went skiing with her family, she swam and rode her bike.
But she found that not everyone had the same opportunities that she did. People with disabilities were often excluded from activities.
“I think they can do anything anyone else can—they just need a little more time than other people,” Dana says. It was this realization and a passion to give everyone the opportunity to lead an active life that has led Dana to pursue a degree in physical education, hoping to become an adaptive PE teacher.
Dana plans to help people with disabilities be active by becoming an adaptive PE teacher.
The Norene and Lorene Behrens Smith Endowed Memorial Scholarship has allowed Dana to focus on learning. Norene, a 1951 alumna, established the scholarship for a well-rounded physical education student who is engaged in a variety of extracurricular activities. For Dana, the scholarship meant there was less to worry about.
“I was excited to receive a scholarship,” she says. “It enabled me to volunteer and gain more experience and education.”
And just as Norene had hoped for future recipients of her scholarship, Dana has taken full advantage of hands-on learning opportunities to supplement her education. While at UNI, Dana has been involved with SportAbility of Iowa Adapted Sports Camp; the Spectrum Project, which combines music, movement, drama and art for children with differing abilities; Special Olympics; Camp Courageous of Iowa; Panther Play, teaching parents how to engage their kids with physical activity; and Panther Academy for Water Safety, teaching swimming lessons to children with and without developmental disabilities.
Dana is student teaching in the Cedar Falls and Waterloo schools this semester. After graduation in May, she is heading to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to pursue a master’s degree in adaptive PE.
If you’d like to learn more about ways you can provide educational opportunities for future Panthers through your estate plan, please contact Jane Halverson at (319) 273-4665 or jane.halverson@uni.edu.