Ruth Schmatz Memorial Scholarship

Ruth Hofer Schmatz attended a one-room rural school where her teacher, Florence Stead, fired her love of learning. With Mrs. Stead’s support and encouragement, Ruth began to work with younger students. She decided to be a teacher and never looked back. She always said her happiest hours were in the classroom.

After receiving her BA, Ruth attended the University of Minnesota for post-graduate work – very unusual for a woman in the 1940s – and received a MA in Educational Psychology. Ruth taught at every grade level from kindergarten to university, and privately tutored both children and adults.

In retirement, she was an active volunteer for a variety of educational and community organizations. She contributed thousands of hours of service to Amherst’s Lettie Jensen Library, with a focus on the juvenile and young adult collection.

The Ruth Schmatz Scholarship is available to any incoming freshman college student or first year technical school student.