endow a scholarship

On my list of 43 things to do before I turn 43, this is number 39. I’ve thought about this for many years now, and I’m currently financially capable of doing this.

The first scholarship I thought of endowing was at my alma mater. I’ve been considering this one for 20 years now. It would be a scholarship for a male junior or senior who is majoring in one of the natural sciences but also is a dancer in Allegheny Repertory Dance or Orchesis. I took my first dance class in college during my junior year and as a computer science major it opened up a whole new outlet of creativity that I hadn’t consider before.

A second scholarship I’ve been considering of late is for local young people to become either an EMT or a paramedic. I’ve sponsored specific students before that I’ve been aware of needing the funding, but I think if I made it a formal scholarship then it wouldn’t be limited to just people I know personally. I’m not sure how this would work though because I’ve always contracted with the student that they would have to serve as a volunteer with the local ambulance after they receive their certification.

The third one I got thinking about when I saw an entry by WBadger a while back talking about wanting to find a scholarship. I got thinking wouldn’t it be neat to have a 43Things scholarship where people who utilize the site can apply for the scholarship. Of course I suppose I’d have to talk to the Robots and get their thoughts on this. They wouldn’t have to be involved in it at all unless they wanted to serve on the review committee. The neat thing about this is that people could also donate to the scholarship fund to help endow it so it would be a community thing and not just me.

So, those are the three that I’m looking at doing. I’d appreciate any thoughts and comments you may have.

I had never even considered this until about a month ago. Now it’s a priority of mine that I am sure will endure until I accomplish it. I was attending a business mixer at the new medical building on the campus of the Community College of Southern Nevada. One of the administrators who hosted the event explained to me how a nursing scholarship for an entire year can be funded for just $1,000, and that scholarship can be maintained in perpetuity with an endowment of just $10,000. At most universities, endowments require an investment of at least $50,000. I’ve already started thinking of ways I might be able to raise funds.

Why? Because the school wins when it can attract deserving students who would be financially challenged without a scholarship. The student wins by being able to afford an education. And my family wins, because we can name the endowment after a family member, and thereby honor a loved one forever (or at least as long as the school exists to award the annual scholarship). I’d like to do this in the name of my younger daughter, who was stricken with congenital cytomegalovirus and is developmentally delayed. The thought that she could somehow play a part in providing a college education to others gives me goosebumps. It is absolutely something I want to do.