Former educator invests in the future

trevor.kenney — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:37:55 +0000

Ida Wiens had a love of learning that motivated her to complete her education, drove a successful 36-year career as a teacher and inspired a gift that will help future teachers, like Chelsa Cumming.

Grateful for her own education and successful career in teaching, Wiens made a bequest in her will for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to ensure more students had the opportunity to go to university.

Although Chelsa Cumming and the late Ida Wiens never met, they share a passion for education that has united them in a unique way.

Cumming is one of the first recipients of the Elmer and Ida Wiens Faculty of Education Bursary, which will help provide the financial means necessary to train the next generation of teachers. Thanks to this legacy gift, up to eight U of L education students will receive an award each year.

Now in her fifth year of university, 22-year-old Cumming has paid for her education by working part time and through student loans. From a financial standpoint, the bursary is of great help.

"It's easier knowing I'm not going to have to pay this back," she says. "It's really nice to have bursaries and scholarships available to help with the burden of paying for an education."

However, the bursary's real significance comes from its origin – the estate gift Elmer and Ida Wiens left to the U of L.

"Because Ida was a teacher, I love knowing that my education will help continue Ida's legacy," Cumming says. "For her to be able to give back to future teachers is awesome."

Like Cumming, Wiens also worked her way through school, completing high school by correspondence before being accepted to normal school in Regina.

Once she received her teaching certificate, Wiens taught in small schools throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta before settling in Coaldale in 1948. While she taught full time, she also completed a bachelor of education degree through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta by taking classes over several summers.

For Cumming, her journey – teaching and learning – is really just beginning. This year she will complete her education and management degrees and final teaching practicum as well as a co-op for her business management degree. Once finished, she's hoping to further round out her experience by teaching abroad for six months to a year.

"I really want to make a difference in a child's life – that's the reason I went into education," says Cumming. "It's a very rewarding and important job. The students I will be teaching are our future."

Legacy gift supports learning

trevor.kenney — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:52:03 +0000

For the late Ida Wiens, it was a love of learning that motivated her to complete her education, drove a successful career as a teacher and inspired a gift that leaves a legacy.

Growing up in rural Saskatchewan, it was not easy for Wiens to pursue an education. She attended Rosenfeld County School initially but had to complete her high school by correspondence before being accepted to normal school in Regina. Wiens left home at the age of 20 to obtain a teaching certificate.

The late Ida Wiens wanted to ensure that the next generation of students could have every opportunity to succeed.

"She had to work her way through normal school to pay for room and board. My parents helped her where they could but they didn't have much to give," says her brother Reinard Kohls. "Given her background and the fact that she was relatively without means, it was very impressive that she was able to do what she did."

Following graduation, Wiens taught in small schools throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta before settling in Coaldale in 1948.

"She would tell young people to stay in school, keep their noses to the grindstone and get an education," remembers Kohls. He says for Wiens there was no better investment.
For her, learning was a continual process and she remained committed to her own education throughout her career. Although she taught full-time, Wiens pursued a bachelor of education degree through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta by taking classes over several summers.

She spent more than 36 years in the classroom before retiring in 1980. But even then, education remained a priority and having spent much of her life in southern Alberta, Wiens saw great value in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

"Ida and her husband Elmer were immensely proud that southern Alberta had managed to get its own university," says Kohls. "Having grown up in small communities themselves, they saw this as a great opportunity for people from this area."

Grateful for her own education and successful career in teaching, Wiens wanted to ensure more students had the opportunity to go to university. With no living relatives, Wiens made an allowance in her estate for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. The Elmer and Ida Wiens Faculty of Education Bursary will help provide the financial means necessary to train the next generation of teachers.

Moreover, Wiens' commitment has inspired a lasting legacy – one that remembers a teacher who believed in the importance of continued education, and one that will benefit the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ well into the future.

As a result of her bequest, Ida Wiens joins the Fiat Lux Legacy Society, a group of donors who have left a legacy gift or are planning a legacy gift that will benefit the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in the future.

For more information, visit www.ulethbridge/giving or call 403-329-2582.

This story first appeared in the May 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Ida Wiens

Former educator invests in the future

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