Lessening the load: Steve Blume creates scholarship
By Marisa Larson, KSU Foundation
A chance encounter at Kansas State University’s open house led Steve Blume to his academic major and a successful career.
“The head of agricultural engineering was walking through, greeting prospective students,” Blume explained. “He asked me about my grades and ACT score. After I told him, he said he thought he could get me a scholarship, which he did. I thought I wanted to study engineering and that sealed the deal.”
Blume majored in agricultural engineering. After graduating in 1979, he made a career working in the oil and gas industry.
As a first-generation student, Blume didn’t know what to expect when he decided to go to college, but he knew he had to work hard to get good grades in the challenging engineering field.
“Everyone talks about their great time at college — going out to parties, etc. I didn’t do any of that,” Blume said. “I studied, played intramural basketball, worked out and went to a few football games. But that’s OK. It was a good choice for me at the time. Now I can enjoy all the hard work I put into it.”
The relationships Blume forged in college are some of his fondest memories.
“I hope the scholarship motivates more STEM-related students to go to K-State and major in engineering. And if there’s fear about money, I can help them out with this scholarship to lessen that concern.”
— Steve Blume
“The support and the relationships I had with my professors, especially the ag engineering professors, are some really good memories,” Blume said. “They mentored me and coached me to be successful in school and be prepared for my career afterward.”
To pay back the assistance he received while a K-State student, Blume created a scholarship for first-generation students majoring in engineering.
“I hope the scholarship motivates more STEM-related students to go to K-State and major in engineering,” Blume said. “And if there’s fear about money, I can help them out with this scholarship to lessen that concern.”
Engineering runs in Blume’s family — two of his four sons are engineers, and his wife, Debbie, is an engineer. One piece of advice Blume passed on to his sons is applicable to all students.
“To those who receive the scholarship, I want them to be passionate about being engineers, passionate about getting a good education at K-State and then passionate about applying what they learned in their jobs,” Blume said. “If they are, they will be successful.”
Scholarship program sees growth in first year
By Grant Guggisberg
As part of its commitment to student success, the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering revamped its scholarship allocation process in 2022 in order to leverage existing funding to help recruit new students to grow the college while also providing much needed merit and financial need support to existing students.
In years past, the college was forced to spend the largest portion of its scholarship funding on its highest-achieving students through the Putnam Scholarship program, which was designed to cover most or all of the cost of tuition at K-State. That program was discontinued in 2019, and most of the students in that program have since graduated and left the university. This change offered senior associate dean Gary Clark the opportunity to modify the college’s scholarship program and distribute awards to far more students.
“With this new flexibility, we wanted to design the program in a way that incentivizes excellent academic performance, both before they arrive at K-State and after they get here,” Clark said. “Our new model allows students from a variety of backgrounds to receive scholarships and does a better job of rewarding more of our high-achieving students.”
Additionally, the program provides a first-year award based on high school merit. Regardless of the first-year award level, all of these students are then considered equally for their renewal award, which is based on their K-State GPA. Providing a performance-based option for all students, rather than a standard four-year award based solely upon high school merit, was a priority in this process.
The early results from the new program show a marked improvement in the percentage of accepted awards as well as more than 100 new students enrolled in fall 2022 as compared to fall 2021. After allocating $2.8 million in scholarships in 2021, the college spent nearly $4.2 million in 2022 under the new program, reemphasizing the need for additional scholarship funds.
To learn how you can invest in scholarships, please contact the engineering development team at 785-775-2000 or engineering@ksufoundation.org.