The Dan Archwamety scholarship was created to give hope, affirmation, and some financial help to young people diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who plan to continue their schooling after high school.

Dan was an above average student who really had to study hard for the good grades he earned. He worked equally hard to learn how to socialize with other students, both his classmates and those who lived at his dorm. When his mother suggested that he could share his talents by offering to help other students in the UNK computer lab, he set out to do just that.

This scholarship was set up by his family, through the Autism Society of Nebraska, in memory of Dan, who died on June 1, 1997, as a result of a bike-truck accident, shortly after he completed his sophomore year at University of Nebraska-Kearney.   The day after he died, two letters arrived from UNK, awarding him two different scholarships for his junior year.   At his funeral service, a fellow student confided that she had no idea that he had a disability.  She thought he was so much more mature than other college boys because he would offer to help her and other students in the computer lab at UNK.

Dan did not live to receive his scholarships, but he would be very happy to know that the memorials people gave to honor his life are helping other deserving young people with ASD to achieve their dreams.

The Autism Society of Nebraska awards the Dan Archwamety Post Secondary Education Scholarship each April to an individual with a diagnosis of ASD.  The 2010 scholarship was for $500. The scholarship must be used toward completing an accredited post‐secondary course of study (educational or vocational) and the applicant must be currently admitted or registered for the program.  Persons who have already received this scholarship will not be eligible in future years.

The application includes:
1. Proof of ASD diagnosis
2. Proof of current admittance/registration in a post‐secondary educational or vocational institute
3. Two letters of recommendation‐‐one from a teacher, one from a non‐relative

Download an application here.