The Harold & Laura Jorgenson Memorial Scholarship Fund helps fund the educations of Duluth and Ely public schools graduates in environmental science, social work or related fields at the University of Minnesota Duluth or Vermilion Community College
Applicants must be graduating seniors of Duluth Public Schools or Ely Memorial High School and in the top 25 percent of graduating classes. Applications must include an academic transcript (with standardized test scores), financial need documentation and two recommendations. The scholarships are renewable for students who maintain a GPA of 2.75.
Born to Norwegian immigrants, Harold T. Jorgenson grew up in Duluth, graduated from Denfeld High School and Duluth State Teachers College (now UMD), and received a masters degree in geography from Clark University in Massachusetts. Laura Laitala Jorgenson was born to Finnish immigrants on their homestead in Ely. She graduated from Ely Memorial High School, Ely Junior College (now Vermilion Community College), and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where she earned a degree in social work.
Together they lived adventurous lives that included time in Alaska, Egypt, Colombia, Brazil and Washington, D.C. They regularly returned to the Laitala homestead on Shagawa Lake in Ely. They were proud of their progressive Minnesota heritage and grateful for the excellent education they received in their home state.