A group of students who receive annual or endowed scholarships and their parents were able to meet some of the people who helped make that financial assistance possible during a special dinner March 26 to recognize donors.
Donors who contribute to various annual and endowed scholarships that provide student financial aid were invited to the dinner March 26, which was organized by the College’s Office of Institutional Advancement to express appreciation to the donors, recognize them for the important benefits brought by their gifts and allow them to meet some of the students and their families who are impacted by their generosity.
Annual scholarships are those scholarship funds established by private donor(s) and maintained with minimum yearly gifts of $1,000. The continuation of the scholarship fund is dependent upon the annual gift.
Endowed scholarships are established by a private donor(s) at a level of $10,000 or higher. The interest from the scholarship fund is used to provide financial assistance to students each year.
Many of Tusculum’s annual and endowed scholarships are established in memory of loved ones or in honor of someone who attended the College.
In both the annual and endowed scholarships, the individual(s) who establishes the fund determines the criteria for awarding the assistance. For example, Tusculum has scholarships that are awarded to students in a particular major or from a specific geographical region while others have no specific guidelines other than a financial need.
Invitations were sent to donors who have contributed to Tusculum’s endowed scholarships. After responses were received, invitations were then sent to students and their parents who receive those scholarships to allow the donors to meet those who are personally impacted by their donations.
After the dinner, Simon Holzapfel, a junior majoring in sports science and sport management, thanked the donors for their contributions to the College. As an international student from Germany, Holzapfel said the scholarships he has received are very important in enabling him to attend Tusculum since he does not qualify for any governmental assistance.
Each of the other students attending then stood and briefly expressed their appreciation to the donors for the scholarships and told what the assistance has meant in helping them achieve their educational goals.
One student, Amber Bradley a junior from Washington state majoring in business administration, presented the donors of the scholarship she has received with bouquets of flowers to express the appreciation of her parents who were unable to attend the dinner. Holzapfel gave a box of chocolate from Germany to his scholarship donor.
Susan Vance, interim vice president for institutional advancement, and Melena Varity, director of financial aid, also expressed their appreciation to the donors for their gifts and shared information about why annual and endowed scholarships are so important to the College. Tusculum provides institutional scholarships to many of its students from its general operating funds. Annual and endowed scholarships help in that the funds they provide toward student financial aid free up a greater percentage of College operating funds to be used for other purposes such as academic program support, student services and facility upkeep.
Pianist Ben Sneyd, a sophomore majoring in English, entertained during the prelude of the event and during the dinner.
Following the dinner, photos were taken of the donors with their respective scholarship recipients and families.
