The Evan Gettert ’02 Entrepreneurial Endowed Scholarship
In 2020, our donors created the Evan Gettert ’02 Entrepreneurial Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship is a permanent memorial to our friend and loved one, Evan. St. Ambrose University writes, “Evan’s name and legacy have become a permanent part of his alma mater. Every scholarship event will feature his name and our organization. Every year, one or more hardworking entrepreneurial students will receive a major scholarship in his name, so that they can study hard, and one day hopefully pay it forward.” Please read more about our scholarship here: http://saugift.org/?pageID=3&storyNum=78
The Evan Gettert ’02 Entrepreneurial Endowed Scholarship is an award to a St. Ambrose University student who is 1) studying entrepreneurship, and/or 2) running a business while in college, or interested in starting a business. The award is administered through the College of Business: http://www.sau.edu/College_of_Business.html (and see http://www.sau.edu/college-of-business/scholarships)
Evan graduated from St. Ambrose University in 2002 with a degree in finance. He was also a varsity soccer player, and was courted with an offer of becoming a graduate student in business/graduate assistant on the soccer team. Evan had great love for his hometown university, and we are so pleased to fund this scholarship!
The following is from a 2013 news article by St. Ambrose University:
Andrew Hosmanek met his best friend Evan Gettert ’02 during their junior year at Davenport West High School.
“Evan was the funniest, smartest person I ever knew, and the life of every party,” said Hosmanek. “He took a genuine interest in each person he met. All kinds of people were drawn to Evan because of his energy, smile and kind manner. He helped people who were less fortunate … and lived every minute of every day to the fullest.”
Gettert was also an entrepreneur from an early age and ran three businesses during college—at the same time.
“Evan had a plutonium core,” said Hosmanek. “He was go-go-go from the moment he woke up (early) to the moment he went to bed at night (late).”
For three years Hosmanek and Gettert ran a painting business together employing 50 fellow college students. “We weren’t even old enough to buy our employees a beer at the end of a busy week,” added Hosmanek with a smile.
Attending the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and Scott Community College, Davenport, Iowa, Gettert completed his degree in finance at St. Ambrose, where he also played varsity soccer. He continued his entrepreneurship, owning and operating a variety of businesses in the Quad Cities and working in finance in Chicago, Ill.
In June 2005, at the age of 26, Gettert passed away after a courageous fight with a rare form of brain cancer.
Eventually, Hosmanek and members of Gettert’s family founded Evan’s Dream, an organization to memorialize him, in part, by providing scholarships to college students in the State of Iowa, and funding and support for brain cancer research.
“Cancer took Evan away from this world, but his spirit lives on,” said Hosmanek. “I am doing my best to honor him and his memory in every way that I can.”
So on Thursday, June 13, a scholarship agreement was signed—one day before the anniversary of Gettert’s passing. The Evan Gettert ‘02 Entrepreneurial Scholarship will provide financial assistance to a St. Ambrose student who is studying business and/or has a strong interest in entrepreneurship, is running a business, or intends to start one.
So the “shorts and flip-flops” entrepreneur will be remembered by way of a $2,500 renewable scholarship supporting other young innovators realize their dreams.
“I know Evan would be enthused about building the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said Hosmanek.
“He lives on in all of us, and his life is an example of how one should live,” he said. “You always hear people say that those with a terminal illness learn to ‘live every day to the fullest.’ Well, Evan did that long before he was sick. And Evan always wanted us to be happy.”
The Evan Gettert Entrepreneurial Studies Scholarship
The Evan Gettert Entrepreneurial Studies Scholarship is awarded in amounts up to $2,500 per year through the Tippie College of Business and the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center: https://www.iowajpec.org/students/academics/scholarships and https://uiowa.academicworks.com/opportunities/162200
The scholarship is awarded to students studying entrepreneurship and/or running their own business in college. Our first two recipients include one of the founders of TranslaCare, a company that develops software to help people with traumatic brain injuries, and a student who started a hand-crafted jewelry business while triple-majoring!
Evan attended The University of Iowa for his freshman and sophomore years, majoring in business and playing on the club soccer team. He was a lifelong Hawkeye fan and attended many Hawkeye football and basketball games over the years.
A post from former Tippie Undergraduate Dean Lon Moeller, 11/7/11:
I Continue to be Amazed by Tippie Students and Alums
Written by Lon Moeller on November 7, 2011
One of our current Ph.D. students in the Department of Management and Organizations, Andrew J. Hosmanek, is also a Tippie (BBA and MBA) and Iowa College of Law grad. Andy was also a former TA for the Introduction to Law class and has taught in our undergraduate and MBA-PM programs. Andy recently agreed to support a scholarship for Tippie undergraduates. The scholarship is named after Andy’s friend and fellow Tippie classmate Evan Gettert. Evan died in 2005 at the age of 26 after battling brain cancer. Andy initially created a nonprofit organization to raise funds for research for brain cancer – “Evan’s Dream” – www.evansdream.org. His committment to both Evan and to the Tippie College of Business in the form of an annual $2,500 scholarship (Evan Gettert Entrepreneurial Studies Scholarship) is special.
Evan's Dream 