By ANDREW WIND, Courier Staff Writer

WATERLOO --- Logan Wood and Wes Bro paid tuition and bought books when they returned to Hawkeye Community College for fall classes.

But five weeks into the semester, the information technology students are waiting to get their money back after meeting with Russ Wasendorf Sr., chairman and chief executive officer of PFGBest.com. The 19-year-olds are the initial recipients of full scholarships from the international financial brokerage firm, which hopes to develop a pool of technology talent as its headquarters move from Chicago to Cedar Falls.

"We think there's a good opportunity to grow our own (information technology) staff," said Wasendorf. "Here we have talented people, but quite often they get their education and march to Chicago" --- or another big city --- "where there's more demand for their skills."

In 1980, Wasendorf founded the company in the basement of his Cedar Falls home. The headquarters were moved to Chicago in 1994 after he bought a much larger business located there. The fast-growing company now has about 800 offices in 25 countries.

The new headquarters, expected to open next August, will house the firm's information technology, accounting and administrative departments. The Chicago office has a little more than 30 employees. Wasendorf said the new headquarters eventually could have nearly 200 employees.

The two students are enthusiastic about the scholarships and the possibility of a future job with PFGBest.com.

"It's exciting," said Wood, who is earning an associate degree in Web design development. "I get my money back, so it's nice."

"I'm really thrilled about the whole situation," added Bro, an information systems management major. "I had no idea when I came in this fall that the scholarship would happen, so it's a very pleasant surprise.

"Just being at a community college and getting a full ride is kind of a rare thing."

Each student will receive $5,000 to cover tuition, books and course fees for the academic year. Scholarships that large are uncommon at Hawkeye.

"For our college, yes, this is unusual," said Peg Brown, executive director of the Hawkeye Foundation. "We have a lot of partial scholarships."

The only other full scholarships available at Hawkeye are through a $200,000 endowment established in 2005 for agriculture students by the estates of siblings Bill and Edna Fennemann.

The HCC Foundation took applications from students in the college's Web design and development and network administration programs. The foundation passed on the names of eight students to company officials who interviewed them, choosing Wood and Bro. The company looked at a number of factors including community involvement and a willingness to stay in the area.

"This is a start. It's obvious to us it's going to need to be much more than this," said Wasendorf.

"We would continue to expand (in future years). The Hawkeye program seems to be best suited for our needs." He noted the scholarship program could be extended beyond Hawkeye at some point.

"It's just an incredible opportunity for our program," said HCC instructor Todd Bengen, information technology department chairman. "We've worked very hard to develop the program and grow the program."

"We're very grateful for the partnerships with companies like PFG," said HCC President Greg Schmitz. It "benefits everyone, certainly the students."

Contact Andrew Wind

at (319) 291-1507

or andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com.

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