By Jolene Farley
Hills resident Arnold Swanson awards two $2,000 scholarships to Hills-Beaver Creek graduates each year.
On the questionnaire for the scholarship, students are asked what their goals are in life and where they expect to be in 10 years.
Hills-Beaver Creek high school teachers choose the top six applicants and Swanson and his daughter, Joan Velasquez, select the final two students.
Swanson started the scholarships three years ago to show his appreciation for scholarships his daughter received during the eight years she attended college. Joan has a doctorate in social work from the University of Minnesota.
"Our daughter contracted polio and it left her partially handicapped," wrote Swanson in a note to the Crescent.
"She spent two years of her life in various hospitals. My wife, Stella, and I decided it was very important that she further her education beyond high school, and Joan was very determined to do just that."
Joan had almost eight years of college paid for with scholarships earned with her hard work, according to Swanson.
"I would like to give back a small portion of what we received in scholarships during her college career," he said. "I would like to give back while I am living. Nothing pleases me more than a thank you from the students receiving the scholarship."
Swanson and his wife discussed starting the scholarship many times before her death. She was a strong advocate of education and supported the cause wholeheartedly, according to Swanson.
'If by giving this interview I encourage one person to fund a scholarship, I will feel that it was worthwhile,' Swanson added.