Marion Technical College Students Have New Scholarship Opportunity

A new scholarship is being started up to help Marion Technical College and Wyandot County students as a whole fund their college journeys. Fairy Wagner and Dr. Amy Adams started up the scholarship in honor of their grandparents, Mary and John Brodman, and the importance they placed on education in their lifetimes. 

Talking with the Advertiser Tribune, Dr. Adams spoke highly of her grandparents’ passion for higher education, saying, “Grandpa wanted one of us to go to college. That was drilled into our heads!”

The Brodmans lived on a family farm outside of Upper Sandusky since the 1800s when they came to America from Switzerland. The farm is still owned by the family today. The Brodmans used the farm to raise sheep, dairy cows, and Belgian horses.

Remembering her grandparents, Fairy Wagner said, “They were very hard workers. They loved Wyandot County and passed that on.”

The Brodmans, who were married in 1927, had four children: Paul, John Junior, Mary Catherine Thiel and Janis Collet. The family was devoutly Catholic and attended mass every day. They liked to go to Upper Sandusky on the weekends for a night out. The girls would take in a film while the boys played cards, according to Fairy and Dr. Adams.

The Brodmans wanted one of their children, at least, to go to college, but when that became impossible, they changed their focus to their grandchildren, many of whom did end up attending college.

Fairy Wagner spent her working career at Whirlpool, as did Dr. Adams’ father, George. Both of Wagner’s children went to, and graduated from, Marion Technical College. One went into real estate, while the other became a nurse. 

Wagner spoke about the joy of higher education in their family, instilled by her grandparents: “We’re excited to help other first-generation college students get ahead. This is a great way to honor our grandparents and keep their values alive.”

Marion Technical College has a large portion of students who are the first in their family to go to college, as well as many non-traditional students who are working and/or raising a family. 
 
Mike Stuckey, director of the Marion Tech Foundation, talked about the impact of the scholarship, saying, “An endowed scholarship fund will help local students each year. It really makes a difference, particularly this first scholarship to help our students specifically from Wyandot County.”

Students interested in the opportunities presented by Marion Technical College can visit the school’s website.