Each year, University Housing singles out qualified and deserving students living in the residence halls and gives them a little financial boost, based on specific scholarship criteria. Read on to meet this year’s beneficiaries.

George L. Droll Award Winner
Kacie Ankenbauer

Kacie Ankenbauer learned valuable life  lessons living in the residence halls her first year at Iowa.

When months of not getting along with her roommate—who, Ankenbauer claims, is her “polar opposite”—finally culminated in a  confrontation, the Council Bluffs native was ready to transfer to another room.

“I talked to my resident assistant one night and said I wanted to move, but when I returned to my room, my roommate was crying and I realized how upset we both were. We sat down together and had a long discussion—and now she’s my best friend,” says Ankenbauer, who will join her roommate this fall for another year in their room at Mayflower. “If I would have walked away, I could have missed out on a really great friend.”

Meeting people and making new friends has been the best part of life in the residence halls for Ankenbauer. She got involved in the hall’s student organization, Mayco—she recently was elected president—and she helped organize a number of fun events for residents.

Her involvement and enthusiasm led University Housing to honor Ankenbauer with the 2007 George L. Droll Award, named for the man who joined the department in 1960 and served as its director from 1980 until his death in 1995. The pre-actuarial science major,  who made the dean’s list her first two semesters, will receive a credit on her University bill of up to $1,000, to be used toward room and board in the residence halls.

“Your roommate might not become your best friend,” she says, “but they’ll feel like family.”

David Coleman Scholarship Winner
Lauren Del Boccio

Leaving familiar surroundings can be difficult for first-year college students, but Lauren  Del Boccio was up to the task. In fact, the Chicago native recognized it as an important step toward independence, and she chose Iowa in part for its location.

“Iowa was far enough away that I didn’t know many people on campus but close enough to home to be able to visit easily,” she says.

It didn’t take long for Del Boccio to find a new circle of friends. During her first year, the Quadrangle resident participated in Relay for Life, a fundraiser for cancer research, and  volunteered at RiverFest, the University’s student-run spring celebration. She also worked  for Hillcrest Market Place and as a driver for Cambus.

Her closest friends, however, were made in the residence halls. “You meet so many new  and interesting people who are all in the same position as you,” she says. “It’s been the  experience of a lifetime.”

Del Boccio was awarded the 2007 David Coleman Scholarship, a $900 award given to a student who has overcome adversity to be successful at the University. Coleman is a former University Housing staff member who championed the causes of students who needed and deserved a second chance. He retired in 2005.

“Two summers ago my mother had cardiac arrest, was in a coma for two weeks, and then a vegetative state,” says the biology major who plans to become a physician assistant. “It made me realize how important health care is.”

by Sara Epstein Moninger

back to top