Students Speak: Kadie and Vangelis

Kadie Kurtz – Finance

Kadie Kurtz, a junior from Lakeville, Minn., is majoring in finance and minoring in economics. During her senior year of high school, Kadie debated whether she should attend college right away or work for a while to save money for school.

She decided to start college, and she attended St. Cloud State University for one semester before transferring to St. Thomas. She has made the Dean’s List at both schools. Kadie knew immediately that St. Thomas would be a great fit for her, being “blown away” by how friendly and helpful the students, teachers and staff are. She plans to pursue a career in actuarial science and will seek internships to supplement what she is learning in the classroom. In addition, she hopes to study abroad in Spain or Italy before she graduates.

Besides being a full-time student, Kadie works 20-25 hours a week as a waitress at the SheratonMinneapolisMidtownHotel to earn money for tuition. Even with all of the hours that she works, “the financial weight of college sometimes feels unbearable,” she said. She is grateful for the help that she has received from scholarships and wouldn’t be able to attend St.Thomas without it.

She feels strongly that students shouldn’t lose the opportunity to attend St.Thomas because of their economic situations. In a letter to a scholarship donor last year, Kadie wrote, “I am very grateful that I have been given a chance to go to such a welcoming, remarkable school,” and that she would like to help students in her financial situation in the future.

“Thanks to your immeasurable kindness, you have reinforced my beliefs that there are still kind-hearted people who care about students who are struggling, and that maybe I am not alone in my endeavor to get through school. Again thank you for your great compassion. I will never forget the impact that you have made on my life.”

 Vangelis Ngwa – Entrepreneurship

Born in Cameroon, Vangelis Ngwa grew up amid corruption and lack of opportunity, but he was blessed with loving and hardworking parents. In this setting, he learned that he did not have to like what he had, but that he could do something about it through prayer, hard work and discipline.

Vangelis graduated cum laude from St. Thomas last May with a degree in entrepreneurship. Now he lives inMinneapolis with his brother and sister, and works at Target headquarters. He is taking courses to earn a Certificate in International Leadership through St.Thomas’ Graduate School of Professional Psychology.

As an undergraduate student, Vangelis worked as an apartment coordinator in the Selby Hall student residence. The position offered a good life-work balance, and even after hereceived a generous scholarship, he kept the position because he was so grateful to the
St. Thomas staff members who helped him to get the job.

He feels fortunate to have had the “very rewarding” experience that he had at St.Thomas. He appreciates how Father Dennis Dease, president of St.Thomas, has reached out to help minority students, and he would like to get involved in speaking to minority students about school and what life after college is like.

Vangelis is very grateful for the scholarship aid that he received. “Paying for tuition and meeting my daily expenses was a Herculean task that words cannot express,” he wrote in a letter to a scholarship donor. “The scholarship you have awarded to me comes like a ‘fresh
cup of water during a journey through the desert.’ I cannot thank you enough.”

He ended his letter, “My goal, with your help, is to succeed so I may someday help others, too. … I pray that the good God, who provided you with the means to provide for others, will ensure that your cup never runs dry.”