Supporting student success: A story of giving

Before April Peterson stepped onto the University of Minnesota campus as a freshman, there was one person supporting her success and easing the financial burden of tuition.

Thanks to David Feinberg (ME ’48) and the David E. Feinberg Scholarship, Peterson’s tuition costs for her first year at the College of Science and Engineering were less. But it came with an added benefit—a new friendship developed between the two.

Through an exchange of letters during her freshman year on topics that ranged from how she was doing to how a recent test had gone, Peterson deeply appreciated the interest Feinberg took in her accomplishments.

With the scholarship, Peterson was able to experience college without the burden of working extra hours at her off-campus job. “It allowed me to get the whole freshman experience,” she said. “It gave me time to study and make a lot of good friends.” Her decision to major in biomedical engineering was influenced by her love of physics in high school and her friend’s father who had a great love for his occupation as a biomedical engineer.

Peterson, who grew up in Minneapolis, said Feinberg’s scholarship was a deciding factor in choosing to attend the University, in addition to the college’s solid biomedical engineering program.

“Because of the scholarship, I knew I would have time to do much better in my classes,” Peterson said. “Plus, it gave me incentive to know that someone, outside of my family, was interested in my success."