Scholarships Set Gruber Up for Success

By design, scholarships are created to ensure students have the resources, time, and opportunity to pursue dreams of all kinds.

For senior Hailey Gruber, scholarships have allowed her to chase what excites her, inside the classroom and out. Both personally and professionally, Hailey’s interests are somewhat off the beaten path, leading her to extracurriculars equally far-flung and unique. Thanks to the support of scholarships, her college experience has been one of honing her existing passion in competitive ploughing and forging a new passion for robotics. Free of constraints on her schedule and the stress of financial demands, Hailey’s been able to focus on academics and tackle her interests – and what she tackles, she conquers.

Hailey’s interest in competitive ploughing is an inherited trait, growing up as a third-generation competitor. Her earliest memories include riding in the tractor on her family farm in Richmond, Minnesota, with her dad, Gene. A lifelong welder, Gene even welded an extra seat in the tractor for Hailey when she was just two years old. After years spent copiloting in that seat, Hailey dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps.

It was a dream she secured by competing in the World Ploughing Competition at the age of 16 in Ireland, one of only two female competitors and landing sixth place to boot. By 2022, she was back in Ireland for another world match. Along for the ride with Gene’s career in competitive ploughing, Hailey’s traveled the world several times over, either cheering on her dad or taking the field herself. The shared family hobby has paved (or ploughed) the way for Hailey to visit Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Kenya, and Denmark, all with a 40-foot shipping container in tow, full of her equipment and machinery.

It wasn’t just her father’s prowess with a plough that inspired Hailey. Reflecting on the man she admires most in the world, she describes a work ethic she hopes to model after graduation. Gene didn’t pursue a traditional college degree, attending welding school instead. Though he secured a steady job in St. Cloud following his secondary education, Gene had also recently started a family with Hailey’s mother, Eva. The two had adopted Hailey and her sister, and Gene felt he was missing out on his own family by spending his evenings with overnight shifts at work.

“At that point, he knew he had to quit his job and start his own business so he could be home with us more,” Hailey explains. “He did that for us.”

Gene started his own small but successful welding shop, a move that would lead to him someday welding a seat in the tractor for his daughter – and the rest is history.

Hailey knew she wanted to pursue engineering when she set out for South Dakota State, though she admits that ploughing was really her only foray into the industry by that point. During her freshman year while majoring in mechanical engineering, Hailey was approached by a cousin also enrolled as a Jackrabbit, who was a member of the Robotics Club and encouraged her to check out a meeting with him. Despite her initial reservations, Hailey soon fell in love with the group, drawn in by the welcoming environment and the wide variety of members, ranging across different majors. “Right away, the club was such a great place to get work done and to have fun,” she recalls.

Even though Hailey’s cousin moved on from the group, she remained for all four years of her Jackrabbit experience, becoming Vice President of Communications before serving as president of the club for two years. A favorite aspect of the group tailored to Hailey’s competitive side: Battle Bots. Working together to build small-scale robots that would duel one another at matches, the Robotics Club included travel opportunities that made up some of Hailey’s favorite collegiate memories, taking her and her fellow members to competitions around the U.S. in Texas, Colorado, Connecticut, and Illinois, to name a few.

The Robotics Club also helped Hailey to find her voice and strengthen her leadership skills. Though she describes herself as more reserved when she first arrived at SDSU, her passion for the club helped her grow as a leader and raise awareness for a little-known club at the university.

“To be in Robotics Club, it’s taking initiative to talk to your dean, networking with industry people, making yourself known, and just getting on their radar,” Hailey explains. “When I was younger and first in Robotics, it wasn’t very well known. Now, people are talking about it and the word is out. It’s all been about making it happen and representing what you want to do.”

With graduation just around the corner for Hailey in May 2025, she’s poised to take on a position as a project engineer at RELCO. Though the job won’t entail time spent on a tractor or carefully assembling robot warriors, Hailey feels her time at State has more than prepared her for what comes next.

When Hailey departs for the real world following graduation, she’ll do so with gratitude for the support she received as a Jackrabbit, the lessons she learned along the way, and the place that allowed her to pursue her interests, old and new. Because of the generosity of the yellow and blue community, her time has been spent not on financial worry, but on curiosity, growth, and the freedom to explore her next chapter.

“There are so many students where they’re stressed and having to work to make ends meet, and because of scholarships, I didn’t have that,” Hailey says. “I’m thankful to take advantage of the opportunities given to me. That kind of support just encourages you to get out there and make the most of your time here, and that’s what I’ve done.”