University officials said this event is for any college-bound student and his or her parents, not just those who might be planning to attend Missouri State-West Plains during the 2013-14 academic year.

Every year, the U.S. Department of Education will make more than $113 billion in postsecondary financial aid available to students throughout the nation.  FAFSA Frenzy, a program of College Goal Sunday (CGS), makes applying for financial aid easier by providing students and their parents with free access to financial aid professionals who can guide students and parents through the application process, which is the first step in applying for federal financial aid programs, organizers said.

Missouri students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA as early as possible, but certainly by April 1 for timely consideration for financial aid.  Students and families do not need to have filed their federal income taxes for 2012 in order to participate in a FAFSA Frenzy event or to complete the FAFSA.

Those attending, however, should bring the following:

• their 2012 W-2 forms;

• copies of 2012 tax forms, if completed, or any year-end pay stubs, statements of interest earned in 2012, W-2 forms, 1099 forms and any other forms required to complete taxes;

• the student’s and parent’s FAFSA PIN numbers.  PINs can be obtained at www.pin.ed.gov.

Families who bring their completed 2012 income tax returns to the FAFSA Frenzy event will be able to complete the 2013-14 FAFSA on site.  Families who haven’t completed their tax returns will still learn valuable information to help them finish the FAFSA at home, organizers said.

“We look forward to the opportunity to assist students and their parents with questions about federal and state aid programs, as well as filling out the FAFSA form,” said Donna Bassham, coordinator of the financial aid office at Missouri State-West Plains.

Students who attend a FAFSA Frenzy event will be entered into a statewide giveaway to win one of eight $500 scholarships, organizers said.  All students will receive gift bags with helpful information for planning and paying for college.

FAFSA Frenzy is offered in Missouri through partnerships between the Missouri Department of Higher Education and the Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel, the Lumina Foundation for Education and USA Funds.

For more information about the March 2 FAFSA Frenzy event, contact the Missouri State-West Plains financial aid office at 417-255-7243.  For more information about Missouri State-West Plains and the financial aid opportunities available to students, visit the university’s website at http://www.wp.missouristate.edu.

University officials said this event is for any college-bound student and his or her parents, not just those who might be planning to attend Missouri State-West Plains during the 2012-13 academic year.

For the next academic year, the U.S. Department of Education will make more than $150 billion in postsecondary financial aid available to students throughout the nation.  FAFSA Frenzy, a program of College Goal Sunday (CGS), makes applying for financial aid easier by providing students and their parents with free access to financial aid professionals who can guide students and parents through the application process, which is the first step in applying for federal financial aid programs, organizers said.

Missouri students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA as early as possible, but certainly by April 1 for timely consideration for financial aid.  Students and families do not need to have filed their federal income taxes for 2011 in order to participate in a FAFSA Frenzy event or to complete the FAFSA.

Those attending, however, should bring the following:
• their 2011 W-2 forms;
• copies of 2011 tax forms, if completed, or any year-end pay stubs, statements of interest earned in 2011, W-2 forms, 1099 forms and any other forms required to complete taxes;
• the student’s and parent’s FAFSA PIN numbers.  PINs can be obtained at www.pin.ed.gov.

Families who bring their completed 2011 income tax returns to the FAFSA Frenzy event will be able to complete the 2012-13 FAFSA on site.  Families who haven’t completed their tax returns will still learn valuable information to help them finish the FAFSA at home, organizers said.

“We look forward to the opportunity to assist students and their parents with questions about federal and state aid programs, as well as filling out the FAFSA form,” said Donna Bassham, coordinator of the financial aid office at Missouri State-West Plains.

Students who attend a FAFSA Frenzy event will be entered into a statewide giveaway to win one of eight $500 scholarships, organizers said.  All students will receive gift bags with helpful information for planning and paying for college.

FAFSA Frenzy is offered in Missouri through partnerships between the Missouri Department of Higher Education and the Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel, the Lumina Foundation for Education and the YMCA.

For more information about the March 3 FAFSA Frenzy event, contact the Missouri State-West Plains financial aid office at 417-255-7243.  For more information about Missouri State-West Plains and the financial aid opportunities available to students, visit the university’s website at http://www.wp.missouristate.edu.

“The generosity of this gift is simply overwhelming,” said Missouri State-West Plains Director of Development Elizabeth Grisham.  “It was given with genuine sincerity – to honor a very special man in a lasting and meaningful way.  We are humbled by the kindness of the donor and the desire to help so many students.”

A 1949 graduate of Alton High School, Hufstedler worked as an electronic design engineer in the oil exploration division at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas, where he received patents for his electronic schematic designs.

After graduating high school, Hufstedler spent one year as a teacher at Bardley School in Ripley County before joining the U.S. Air Force in 1951, where he worked in ground control radar.  He was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant in 1955 and began working for Gulf Oil Company’s research and development division with its air magnetometer group searching for oil in Arizona and Venezuela.  He also designed the electronic circuitry for instruments used in the discovery of oil while attending night school at the University of Pittsburgh.

Hufstedler finished his bachelor’s degree at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 1960 and began working for Emerson Electric in St. Louis designing circuitry for radar equipment.  In 1963, he began working for Texas Instruments as a designer in the radar division, then moved to the geological services devision where he designed electronic circuitry for oil discovery instruments.  He received three patents for his circuitry designs.

Hufstedler left Texas Instruments in 1976 and returned to Doniphan, Mo., and grew hay on the family farm at Riverton, Mo., until he retired in 1995.  Retirement didn’t slow him down, however, as he enjoyed flying small airplanes, farming, hunting, fishing, camping, traveling and having coffee with “the guys” in the mornings until his death earlier this year.

“My only regret about these scholarships is that I never had the privilege to meet their namesake,” Grisham said.  “By all descriptions, Mr. Hufstedler was a fun-loving, intelligent man whose irrepressible energy and enthusiasm was contagious.  Whether he was maneuvering a canoe on the river or piloting his small aircraft, his love of life was evident in his wide smile.  He has left an outstanding example of a life well lived for those who will receive his scholarships.”

To honor Hufstedler’s Oregon County roots, the Al Hufstedler Memorial Endowed Scholarship is designed to be awarded to three recipients:  A graduate of Alton High School, a graduate of Couch High School, and a veteran who is a graduate of a public high school in Oregon County.  Each recipient will be awarded $1,000.

According to scholarship guidelines, recipients should have maintained an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher in all previous educational programs and be enrolled in 12 credit hours or more each semester.  First preference will be given to students whose area of interest is math, science or engineering.  Secondary consideration will be given to studewnts pursuing a career in teaching or nursing, respectively.  Financial need also will be a consideration.

University officials said the donor welcomes additional gifts to the Al Hufstedler Memorial Endowed Scholarship fund in his memory.  “Anyone who contributes is helping rural students like Al pursue their dreams of a college education and a better life,” Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett said.  “Students from rural areas often are the first in their family to go to college.  They are eager to learn but find the costs of achieving their dreams somewhat limiting.  Those who contribute to scholarship funds such as this one can be assured their donation will reap benefits well into the future.”

The Al Hufstedler Leadership Scholarship Endowment will privately fund two institutionally-funded Leadership Scholarships awarded to graduates of Alton and Couch High Schools.  The university has historically funded a leadership scholarship for a student at each of the 23 high schools in its service area.  Valued at $1,000 each per year, the scholarships will be awarded to a graduate from each high school who intends to further his or her education at Missouri State-West Plains.

In these challenging budget times, this private gift not only provides continuous financial aid for students, but positively affects the university’s operating budget as well, Bennett pointed out.  “Everyone should applaud the generous donor for showing interest in Missouri State-West Plains and supporting
our campus,” he said.  “I especially appreciate the donor’s willingness to replace an institutional scholarship with a private one.  It is obvious the donor believes in higher education and wants to help make our institution strong.”

For more information about these scholarships and other financial aid opportunities available to students at Missouri State-West Plains, call the financial aid office at 417-255-7243 or visit the office’s website at wp.missouristate.edu/FinAid/.

To find out how you can contribute to the scholarships above or establish a scholarship of your own, contact the Missouri State-West Plains development office at 417-255-7240.

The workshop is being co-hosted by the West Plains High School counseling office and Missouri State University-West Plains.

A representative from Missouri State-West Plains will be on hand to provide information to students and parents regarding federal and state resources available to help students finance their post-secondary education, according to Donna Bassham, coordinator of the financial aid office.

This includes information about federal financial aid programs such as the Pell Grant, campus-based work-study programs, Stafford student loans and PLUS loans for parents, as well as state programs such as the Access Missouri grant, Bright Flight Scholarship and the A+ Program.

In addition, those attending will receive information about the financial aid application process, including instructions for filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Bassham said.

All of the information provided will be useful for students planning to attend any post-secondary institution that participates in the federal Title IV programs, not just Missouri State-West Plains, Bassham said.

For more information about the workshop, contact the Missouri State-West Plains financial aid office at 417-255-7243 or contact West Plains High School Dean of Students Jack Randolph at 417-256-6150.

University officials said this event is for any college-bound student and his or her parents, not just those who might be planning to attend Missouri State-West Plains next academic year.

Every year the U.S. Department of Education makes more than $113 billion in postsecondary financial aid available to students throughout the nation.  FAFSA Frenzy, a program of College Goal Sunday (CGS), makes applying for financial aid easier by providing students and their parents with free access to financial aid professionals who can guide students and parents through the application process, which is the first step in applying for federal financial aid programs, organizers said.

Missouri students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA as early as possible, but certainly by April 1 for timely consideration for financial aid.  Students and families do not need to have filed their federal income taxes for 2010 in order to participate in a FAFSA Frenzy event or to complete the FAFSA.

Those attending, however, should bring the following:
• their 2010 W-2 forms;
• copies of 2010 tax forms, if completed, or any year-end pay stubs, statements of interest earned in 2010, 2009 tax forms, 1099 forms and any other forms required to complete taxes;
• the student’s and parent’s FAFSA PIN numbers.  PINs can be obtained at www.pin.ed.gov.

Families who bring their completed 2010 income tax returns to the FAFSA Frenzy event will be able to complete the 2011-12 FAFSA on site.  Families who haven’t completed their tax returns will still learn valuable information to help them finish the FAFSA at home, organizers said.

“We look forward to the opportunity to assist students and their parents with questions about federal and state aid programs, as well as filling out the FAFSA form,” said Donna Bassham, coordinator of the financial aid office at Missouri State-West Plains.

Students who attend a FAFSA Frenzy event will be entered into a statewide giveaway to win one of four $1,000 scholarships, organizers said.  All students will receive gift bags with helpful information for planning and paying for college.

FAFSA Frenzy is offered in Missouri through partnerships between the Missouri Department of Higher Education with the Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel, the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, the Lumina Foundation for Education and the YMCA.

For more information about the March 5 FAFSA Frenzy event, contact the Missouri State-West Plains financial aid office at 417-255-7243.  For more information about Missouri State-West Plains and the financial aid opportunities available to students, visit the university’s website at http://www.wp.missouristate.edu.

The workshop is being hosted by Missouri State University-West Plains.

A representative from Missouri State-West Plains will be on hand to provide information to students and parents regarding federal and state resources available to help students finance their post-secondary education, according to Donna Bassham, coordinator of the financial aid office.

This includes information about federal financial aid programs such as the Pell Grant, campus-based work-study programs, Stafford student loans and PLUS loans for parents, as well as state programs such as the Access Missouri grant, Bright Flight Scholarship and the A+ Program.

In addition, those attending will receive information about the financial aid application process, including instructions for filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Bassham said.

All of the information provided will be useful for students planning to attend any post-secondary institution that participates in the federal Title IV programs, not just Missouri State-West Plains, Bassham said.

For more information about the workshop, contact the Missouri State-West Plains financial aid office at 417-255-7243, or contact counselor Raegan Cox at Cabool High School, 417-962-3153, extension 332.