Benton-Worner Scholarship Endowment

The Benton-Worner Scholarship is a mother-daughter collaboration between Debbie Worner and her daughter, Jess Benton. Their story is one of perseverance and hardships overcome, the power of education, and a desire to help others.

Deb Worner married at a young age and dropped out of school to become a homemaker and raise a family. A number of years passed and Deb found herself divorced and a young single mother of two small children. She worked seven days a week to make ends meet, struggled with low income and inadequate housing and eventually moved “back home” to create a better life for herself and her children. Deb was determined to return to college to complete her degree and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education the same year her eldest daughter graduated from high school. Her next move brought the family to central Wisconsin where she became a small business owner and continued her education, again, with her eldest daughter, to complete her master’s degree. That daughter was Jess.

As the eldest daughter, Jess took on many household responsibilities beyond her years to help her Mom and younger sister. She put herself through college with scholarships and grants, married, and had a newborn son when she lost her job, and became part of NTC’s dislocated worker program in hopes of gaining new skills and returning to the workforce. Juggling the demands of caring for a young child while obtaining an education is never easy and Jess created an accelerated academic schedule to make that possible. Jess was hired at NTC is September 2001 to work in the Learning Center, where she watched learners from difficult circumstances strive to better themselves and their livelihoods. Jess continues to serve NTC today, and fully understands the magnitude of challenges facing students each and every day.

Deb and Jess have experienced, firsthand, the hardships, sacrifices, and barriers facing many students, and this scholarship is their way of helping to create opportunities, reduce barriers and make dreams come true.