Son’s experiences at Winona State reflect those of his mother’s, 24 years earlier
Going away to college wasn’t an option for Brenda (Greenwood McNally) Litscher ’89, but she found a great fit right in her hometown.
When it was time for her son, Patrick McNally, to find a college, the possibilities seemed endless. Taking after his mother, McNally was an outstanding high school student with a broad range of interests, from vice president of student council to playing on the baseball team.
Litscher wanted her son to make his own choice. Yet before he got too far down the road of making campus visits and filling out applications, she suggested, “Why don’t we look at Winona State?” After all, her hometown college had been right for her.
Winona State proved to be the perfect fit for McNally, too. After his first campus visit he thought, “Maybe I don’t need to look any further.” A second visit convinced him, “Oh yeah, I’m committing to this place.”
McNally is now in the middle of a successful freshman year, despite undergoing an emergency appendectomy at the end of his fall semester (he still managed to take all of his final exams).
There are more parallels between the experiences of McNally and Litscher than simply attending – and excelling at – the same university.
Litscher majored in finance with a minor in economics. McNally, who was set on a career as a chiropractor while growing up, decided during his junior year of high school to go into finance. Like his mother, he’s also minoring in economics.
While Litscher’s parents were supportive of her plans to attend college, she worked three jobs to pay for her education. McNally is similarly hardworking, clocking 30-plus hours a week as a manager of the local McDonald’s. Litscher was the first in her family to earn a degree from a four-year university. McNally will be the first on his father’s side of the family to receive a four-year degree.
They also share one more distinction: the Winona State University Foundation Scholarship.
Litscher was the first awardee of the WSU Foundation Scholarship in 1985. “It made a huge difference in my ability to attend and graduate from Winona State,” says Litscher.
When it became clear that McNally would also attend Winona State, Litscher pushed her son to apply for every scholarship that was available, including the Foundation Scholarship. “I didn’t realize it was the same scholarship she had received when she was at WSU,” says McNally. “Or that she had been the first recipient.”
Time did break a few of the parallel threads in their stories, however. Litscher completed her scholarship applications on a typewriter. McNally submitted most of his online. Litscher’s award from the Foundation totaled about $3,600. Reflecting the rising costs of a college education, McNally is receiving $16,000 through his scholarship.
Litscher pushed herself to earn good grades while a student at Winona State. She describes her first class as a finance major, when she and a couple of fellow students built a presentation using an early personal computer. Economics professor Matt Hyle remembered that presentation when he met Litscher and McNally while they were visiting campus. “That opened my eyes,” says McNally.
After graduating from Winona State, Litscher started her career at Benchmark Electronics in Winona, where she is now senior account manager. She enjoys her job, but says she could see herself working as a financial advisor, helping people with some of life’s most important decisions.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that McNally also has his sights set on a career as a financial advisor. “I think of people like my grandparents, who have worked so hard, and helping them plan their saving and investments so they can enjoy life when they retire,” explains McNally.
It’s clear that Litscher is proud of her son’s accomplishments and delighted that he is following her example. When McNally wrote about the person he admired most for his Foundation Scholarship application essay, the subject was his mother.
“She and I are so similar,” says McNally. “She worked so hard for it and pushed me to work hard. I’m very thankful.”
