Stories
The University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine announces a new endowed scholarship established in the name of a family wishing to demonstrate gratitude to the Milbank community.
Bill and Jill Schuneman, formerly of Milbank, have established the Bill & Jill Schuneman Family Excellence in Rural Medicine Scholarship Endowment at the Sanford School of Medicine (SSOM). The gift establishes an annual scholarship to be given to a medical student who spends part of their training at the Milbank Area Hospital as part of the SSOM Frontier And Rural Medicine (FARM) program. FARM offers medical students hands-on education and a unique view of the rewards and challenges of providing patient care in a rural setting in the hopes that they return to practice in rural areas after training.
The Schunemans made Milbank their home for 35 years and raised a family there. "We raised all four of our children in the Milbank schools, and they all got a wonderful education. We can't say enough good things about the community," stated Jill.
The family flourished in Milbank for all those years, and the Schunemans believed in giving back to the community that gave so much to them. Bill and Jill owned Schuneman Equipment, a John Deere dealership, from 1979 until 2017 when they merged the business with Kibble Equipment. During their time there, they contributed monetarily and in-kind to many organizations, including the new hospital, 4-H, Unity Square, their church and multiple service committees.
Both the Schuneman's daughters, as well as a son-in-law, are alumni of the USD Sanford School of Medicine. In addition to giving back to the Milbank community, the Schunemans wanted to make a gesture to honor their children. "I immediately thought of USD medicine," said Jill. "This endowment enables us to give back to both Milbank and USD at the same time."
This year, the first recipient of the Schuneman Family Rural Medicine scholarship is Abbey Rieber, who will spend 11 months of her medical training in Milbank beginning in February. "We hope the endowment supports a continued supply of students who want to return and establish their careers as practicing physicians in Milbank," Bill explained. "We are very happy that we are able to help the community this way."