In 1965, Greg Benson was a high school senior who desperately wanted to study at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. He was working odd jobs that paid $2 to $3 per hour, but he knew that would not be nearly enough to pay the yearly tuition of $1,900.

"Back in those days, parents didn't always save for their children's college education," said Benson, who graduated from Forest Lake High School and still lives in his hometown of Scandia. "You figured out how to do it on your own."

That year, Andersen Windows started an Employees Children's College Scholarship Fund and awarded $6,200 to 12 students. Benson, whose father, Lester, worked in the cutting department in the Bayport factory, was one of them.

Since then, the company has awarded more than $3.3 million in college scholarships to children of employees, including $50,000 to 27 high school seniors in the class of 2011. Past winners were able to renew their scholarships, which brought this year's total allocation to more than $200,000, said Susan Roeder, corporate affairs manager.

Benson said the $1,000 scholarship he received each year allowed him to earn a degree in business administration, and led to a 36-year career in banking. A year after graduating from Gustavus, Benson started as a bookkeeper at the First State Bank and Trust in Bayport, and he rose to become its president, a position he held for 20 years.

"That scholarship allowed me to go there and I didn't have to worry [about finances] at all," said Benson. "That Andersen scholarship was not the only reason I went to Gustavus. It was the reason I landed my banking career."

Benson retired from the bank in 2006, but he still serves on its board of directors. He also has served on Andersen's corporate board of directors for the past nine years and is currently vice president and treasurer of the Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation, which gives money to colleges, hospitals, libraries and senior housing, along with organizations such as the Boy Scouts. Last year, the foundation awarded $24 million.

Andersen awards 25 to 30 college scholarships each year, Roeder said. An independent committee that includes teachers looks at grade-point averages, civic involvement and other factors in selecting the winners.

Benson knows just how important those scholarships can be.

"The Andersen scholarship is so critical to students hoping to go to college," Benson said. "It's great that Andersen leaders saw the need to provide these scholarships to their employees' children.

Tim Harlow • 651-735-1824 • Twitter: @timstrib