2020 Scholarship Donor Virtual Reception

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11/11/2020 Added

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College of Education and Human Sciences 2020 Scholarship Donor Virtual Reception

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[00:00:03.260]Let me say welcome everyone.
[00:00:05.250]It is wonderful to see all of you
[00:00:07.510]on this beautiful fall day.
[00:00:09.820]Of course, I wish we could be together in person,
[00:00:12.905]but although we have to be together virtually this year,
[00:00:16.170]I am pleased that we are able to be together.
[00:00:18.994]We, as many of you know,
[00:00:22.425]the College of Education and Human Sciences has a mission
[00:00:26.620]to enhance the lives of individuals, families, schools,
[00:00:30.120]and communities, and to strengthen
[00:00:31.940]the relationships among them.
[00:00:34.100]And I have to say that I think this mission is ever more
[00:00:37.040]important as we navigate the pandemic,
[00:00:39.434]and move toward a post pandemic world.
[00:00:42.696]And one thing that our students tell me that they love
[00:00:46.230]about the college is that they can major in a number
[00:00:49.530]of different program areas, and they appreciate
[00:00:52.730]the diversity of the programs, but they also love that they
[00:00:56.220]will all become part of a workforce
[00:00:58.153]that impacts people's lives.
[00:01:00.643]And the college takes great pride in preparing a culturally
[00:01:04.860]competent and relevant workforce for our communities
[00:01:08.340]in Nebraska and beyond.
[00:01:10.200]And an important part of preparing tomorrow's workforce
[00:01:13.226]is our exceptional faculty and staff,
[00:01:16.053]several of whom have joined us today.
[00:01:18.460]And I recognize we won't be able to see everybody,
[00:01:21.590]but could the faculty and staff who are on today,
[00:01:24.190]just give away so people can see
[00:01:27.240]who you are at a quick glance.
[00:01:29.036]We certainly won't have time to go around
[00:01:31.470]and introduce everybody.
[00:01:32.616]Now, let me say something that maybe you didn't know.
[00:01:36.808]Did you know that scholarships are one of the most important
[00:01:41.400]ways to have an impact on the workforce?
[00:01:44.300]And that means that you, our donors are important
[00:01:47.570]and value partners in our work.
[00:01:50.070]So if you are a donor with us today,
[00:01:52.270]will you too, please wave so everyone can see who you are.
[00:01:56.072]We're happy to have you with us. And we celebrate you today.
[00:02:00.771]And I thank you for your support.
[00:02:03.450]Because of your generosity, 388 undergraduate students
[00:02:08.640]and 116 graduate students in the college
[00:02:12.260]received financial support this year.
[00:02:15.230]And we have several student awardees here.
[00:02:18.030]So I'm going to ask our students who are with us today
[00:02:20.780]to give a wave, we celebrate you too today.
[00:02:25.640]Now you might be asking just how do scholarships
[00:02:29.280]impact the workforce?
[00:02:30.851]Well, as a scientist, I had to do a little bit
[00:02:33.480]of research on this question.
[00:02:35.440]First, scholarships facilitate access and affordability.
[00:02:39.204]They help fill the gap between the cost of college
[00:02:42.790]and the student's financial aid, meaning that students
[00:02:45.780]don't have to choose between working long hours,
[00:02:48.500]taking out loans or dropping out.
[00:02:50.587]Second, scholarships pave the way for students to pursue
[00:02:55.480]and complete their degree.
[00:02:56.922]Research has actually reported up to a 15% increase
[00:03:01.490]in student retention rates and a 20% increase
[00:03:04.810]in graduation rates.
[00:03:06.310]So scholarships enhance students' success.
[00:03:09.397]My third point about scholarships,
[00:03:12.220]and what I might argue is the most important
[00:03:14.860]is the personal impact.
[00:03:16.432]Again studies have shown that scholarships recipients devote
[00:03:20.990]more time to educational activities and increase their
[00:03:24.280]quality of effort toward an engagement with their studies.
[00:03:27.733]Leaving college with less debt means that our graduates
[00:03:31.870]are able to focus their energy on their careers and serving
[00:03:35.500]the greater good.
[00:03:36.850]I would argue helping to create a happier
[00:03:38.608]and healthier public.
[00:03:41.530]So I think scholarships invest in people,
[00:03:44.403]facilitate success, enhance access,
[00:03:48.530]and promote happiness and health.
[00:03:51.135]Now, the impact of scholarships reach much further
[00:03:55.260]then many people can see.
[00:03:56.776]A student once wrote to me as a result of scholarships
[00:04:01.531]I have received, I have been able to become
[00:04:04.270]involved with research.
[00:04:05.702]Assisting with the research process,
[00:04:08.430]including data collection and scientific publication
[00:04:11.620]preparation has sparked my interest in continuing research
[00:04:15.350]as I step into a more clinical setting.
[00:04:17.552]So while scholarships contribute to our needs
[00:04:20.950]as students today, they will have a lasting impact
[00:04:24.360]as they can truly influence career trajectories.
[00:04:27.698]So to our donors, I would say you truly influenced career
[00:04:32.072]trajectories of our students, and I'm so grateful for each
[00:04:35.610]and every one of you and the support that you have provided.
[00:04:38.804]And we're happy to have two guest speakers
[00:04:42.190]to share with you.
[00:04:43.405]So first I am pleased to introduce Claire Kubicek
[00:04:47.550]to share her perspective as a scholarship recipient.
[00:04:50.635]So let me tell you a little bit about Claire.
[00:04:53.519]Claire is from Friend, Nebraska and is currently a junior
[00:04:58.107]majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders.
[00:05:01.910]She has been on the Dean's list,
[00:05:03.750]several semesters for her academic performance.
[00:05:06.264]She was selected to be in the Chancellor's Leadership class,
[00:05:10.009]and is an Oasis Scholar.
[00:05:12.720]She serves on our Student Advisory Board, is an Aphasia
[00:05:16.470]Community Partner, and a member of our Students
[00:05:19.080]Speech, Language, Hearing Association.
[00:05:21.730]She volunteers on the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center
[00:05:25.307]Board, the Global Foundation for Peroxisomal Disorders,
[00:05:29.244]St. Gianna Women's Home and many other organizations.
[00:05:33.435]Claire is the recipient
[00:05:35.540]of the Mary Pont Smith's Scholarship.
[00:05:37.830]And Claire, I'm pleased to turn the microphone over to you
[00:05:41.110]to tell us a bit about your story.
[00:05:44.368]Awesome. Thank you so much Dr. Jones.
[00:05:46.454]Hi everyone. Thank you so much for being here today.
[00:05:50.580]My name is Claire Kubicek as Dr. Jones said,
[00:05:53.080]and I am from the small town of Friend, Nebraska.
[00:05:55.890]I'm a junior here at university, majoring in Communication
[00:05:59.020]Sciences and Disorders.
[00:06:00.550]After graduating,
[00:06:01.510]I plan to attend graduate school to earn my master's degree
[00:06:04.440]in Speech, Language Pathology,
[00:06:05.898]hopefully right here in Lincoln at this great university.
[00:06:09.116]Upon earning my master's degree,
[00:06:11.470]it is my goal to work as an SLP in the school setting.
[00:06:14.238]As I thoroughly enjoy working with children.
[00:06:16.734]Throughout my time at UNL,
[00:06:18.370]I have been fortunate enough to be selected as a recipient
[00:06:21.380]of a few scholarships from our generous donors.
[00:06:23.749]These scholarships have helped me more than I would have
[00:06:26.380]ever imagined.
[00:06:27.270]One of the biggest impacts these scholarships have made
[00:06:30.040]in my college experience would be all of the opportunities
[00:06:32.920]they have provided me to get involved in student
[00:06:35.390]organizations throughout campus.
[00:06:36.820]These donations have given me the ability to spend less time
[00:06:40.740]working and more time learning, growing, networking,
[00:06:44.061]and forming relationships with my peers
[00:06:46.200]and the faculty and staff on campus.
[00:06:48.249]Over the last few years,
[00:06:49.880]I have been able to get involved in several organizations.
[00:06:52.582]I am a Family Representative for Dance Marathon,
[00:06:55.211]which is a student run organization where the students raise
[00:06:58.730]money for the Omaha Children's Hospital and put on a day
[00:07:01.120]long event for the children and their families to come
[00:07:04.230]and enjoy themselves all while forgetting about
[00:07:06.310]they're other worries.
[00:07:07.319]I also volunteered to work on communication skills with
[00:07:10.890]a man who was affected by aphasia
[00:07:12.720]and has word-finding difficulties due to a stroke.
[00:07:15.417]I have also been lucky enough to hold leadership positions
[00:07:18.060]on the College of Education and Human Sciences
[00:07:20.730]Student Advisory Board, in my sorority, and at the
[00:07:23.600]St. Thomas Aquinas Newman center.
[00:07:25.107]A piece of advice to my fellow students is to say, yes.
[00:07:28.618]Say yes to the application
[00:07:31.080]your professor is telling you about,
[00:07:32.610]say yes to getting out of your comfort zone and say yes,
[00:07:35.210]to making new friends.
[00:07:36.540]We will never get this time back.
[00:07:38.010]So let's make the most of it while we can,
[00:07:39.650]because it goes incredibly fast.
[00:07:41.655]I have been able to grow, mature and flourish.
[00:07:45.300]These last two years due to receiving these scholarships.
[00:07:48.260]I am so excited to see what these next two years
[00:07:50.330]have in store.
[00:07:51.350]And I know that these opportunities and experiences will
[00:07:53.591]continue to benefit me down the road.
[00:07:56.010]As I enter graduate school and eventually the workforce.
[00:07:58.668]None of this would have been possible without each and every
[00:08:01.590]one of you, so thank you for contributing to make,
[00:08:04.100]not only my college experience, the best that it can be,
[00:08:06.596]but each UNL student's college experience, the very best.
[00:08:10.240]Your donations and these scholarships mean more now
[00:08:12.480]then they ever have before.
[00:08:13.736]With the trying times,
[00:08:14.910]our students are going through a large number of students
[00:08:17.460]summer and fall jobs and internships were put on hold
[00:08:20.573]due to the pandemic,
[00:08:22.820]leaving students in a difficult financial situation.
[00:08:28.070]We appreciate your generosity and kindness more than,
[00:08:30.490]you know,
[00:08:31.510]your donations have helped so many students like myself,
[00:08:33.845]gain experience, get more involved, an overall
[00:08:37.200]learn and grow outside of the classroom setting,
[00:08:39.390]which is priceless. From the bottom of the student's hearts.
[00:08:42.259]Thank you, and Go Big Red.
[00:08:47.890]Thank you, Claire.
[00:08:49.200]I think Claire represents one of all of our students who are
[00:08:52.150]here today, and I hope when we move into our breakout rooms,
[00:08:55.330]so you will have an opportunity to hear a bit more from each
[00:08:58.450]student about their experiences and what your scholarship
[00:09:01.508]means to them.
[00:09:03.061]So thank you, Claire.
[00:09:05.109]Next, I would like to introduce Todd Mattox.
[00:09:09.491]Todd is our Foundation Lead for the college and leads a team
[00:09:14.610]of development officers for us.
[00:09:16.901]Todd, we'll introduce our next guest speaker,
[00:09:20.300]but I hope Todd will have a few words to say before he moves
[00:09:23.710]to his introduction, so Todd you're on.
[00:09:28.380]Thank you, Dean Jones.
[00:09:30.411]First, let me say congratulations.
[00:09:32.287]Once again, to all of our students,
[00:09:35.150]scholarship recipients today.
[00:09:36.669]As Claire shared your hard work and efforts
[00:09:40.560]have made a difference.
[00:09:41.547]And each of you is very well deserving of the recognition
[00:09:45.290]received. Our scholarship donor gathering is an event
[00:09:50.000]I look forward to each and every year,
[00:09:51.903]as you recognize our students and say,
[00:09:54.070]thank you to our donors more over our gatherings and
[00:09:58.508]gathering here today is a powerful reflection of the
[00:10:01.311]supportive network of caring and extraordinarily kind
[00:10:05.380]individuals, all passionate about student success.
[00:10:09.259]The impact of each scholarship is significant
[00:10:13.580]as Claire has shared,
[00:10:15.370]particularly in our unique and ever-changing environment
[00:10:18.870]this year due to COVID. As important as these financial
[00:10:22.550]dollars provided to students are.
[00:10:24.770]So too is the history and the meaningful story behind each
[00:10:28.407]and every scholarship.
[00:10:30.227]Some are established to honor a loved one who made a lasting
[00:10:33.730]difference in the lives of others.
[00:10:35.938]Some scholarships come with the recognition of hard and
[00:10:38.670]diligent work,
[00:10:40.070]which created an opportunity to give back and ability to
[00:10:42.790]support the Alma Mater,
[00:10:44.490]which was transformational to donors lives.
[00:10:46.745]And many scholarships were established to support
[00:10:49.461]students whose work furthers the personal interest and
[00:10:54.350]philanthropic passions of the donors themselves,
[00:10:57.021]be it Special Education, Early Childhood Development,
[00:11:00.533]Community Health and Nutrition, Educational Leadership,
[00:11:03.335]or the many other areas of study within the college that
[00:11:06.485]enhance the lives of children, youth, and families
[00:11:09.210]in schools and communities across Nebraska and beyond.
[00:11:12.325]So on behalf of the entire university,
[00:11:14.761]Nebraska Foundation team, I'd say thank you once again,
[00:11:18.410]to our donors,
[00:11:19.260]our donor families and friends for your leadership and
[00:11:22.670]support of students within the college.
[00:11:25.310]And as Claire said,
[00:11:26.160]your ability to say, yes, say yes to filling the gaps,
[00:11:29.370]say yes, to paving the way
[00:11:31.240]and say yes to making a personal impact
[00:11:33.360]in our students' lives.
[00:11:34.766]So thank you. At this time,
[00:11:38.330]it's my privilege to introduce Don and Leannette Heyen
[00:11:41.600]to share their touching and inspirational story of their
[00:11:44.513]scholarship that they established,
[00:11:46.590]which we celebrate today and its first awarding.
[00:11:49.112]So Don and Leannette the microphone is yours.
[00:11:55.530]Thank you.
[00:11:57.050]I appreciate the recognition for the scholarship.
[00:11:59.781]Leannette are you on?
[00:12:03.232]If you want, Leannette may interject,
[00:12:05.930]but I'll do most of the talking--
[00:12:08.000]I'm here too.
[00:12:09.683]All right. So our son, Evan was a senior in 2000.
[00:12:14.490]He would've graduated in 2015 and he passed away from a
[00:12:17.575]pulmonary embolism and he was,
[00:12:20.153]he was a Husker through and through.
[00:12:23.120]So I went to echo, Claire's Go Big Red by the way.
[00:12:27.549]He was a History major.
[00:12:30.920]He started out in the College of Education,
[00:12:34.340]but he wouldn't have ended up graduating there.
[00:12:37.390](phone ring) Sorry about that.
[00:12:39.329]But we wanted to,
[00:12:41.130]we wanted to honor him and we struggled with a way to find
[00:12:45.150]out how to honor him.
[00:12:46.900]And we had a support group called Compassionate Friends,
[00:12:50.670]someone in there suggested,
[00:12:51.720]Hey, you should look into a scholarships
[00:12:53.587]and Evan was such a huge UNL person.
[00:12:56.391]And you know, for him,
[00:12:58.340]there was no other place to go, but UNL,
[00:13:00.230]we are UNL family and from the get-go that's where he wanted
[00:13:03.640]to go to college.
[00:13:05.091]So that's kind of his background of why he wants to go
[00:13:09.840]there and you know, us being a UNL family.
[00:13:13.979]It wouldn't be complete unless I gave you a flavor of what
[00:13:18.160]Evan was like, Evan was a wonderful, compassionate person.
[00:13:23.664]He was very outgoing, made a lot of friends
[00:13:29.165]and was your typical college student and loved college.
[00:13:36.043]So, you know, from our standpoint, you know,
[00:13:39.996]we can say a lot of things as parents and you know,
[00:13:43.620]obviously we love him and everything you're getting from us
[00:13:46.330]is biased.
[00:13:47.163]But I'd like to end this with reading something
[00:13:51.450]that one of his friends wrote about him.
[00:13:53.782]And this person is a lot better writer than I ever would be.
[00:13:57.750]So I'll take a few minutes. It won't take very long.
[00:14:01.652]And I'd like to read this for you.
[00:14:08.330]Evan was one of the sweetest, kindness,
[00:14:10.200]greatest guys I've ever known.
[00:14:12.100]It's not fair that he had to go so soon
[00:14:13.630]but I can't help, but be selfish and wish I had more time
[00:14:17.650]with him and regretful that I didn't spend
[00:14:19.740]as much time as possible with him while I could.
[00:14:24.727]I know this kind of regret is pointless.
[00:14:26.360]None of us know how long we have here
[00:14:28.350]in this all to unfair life.
[00:14:30.110]And we all have to say goodbye to each other at some point,
[00:14:33.060]the best way we can do this is live
[00:14:36.700]our lives with the maximum amount of love and joy possible.
[00:14:39.406]That is, it goes without saying, how Evan lived his .
[00:14:44.422]He brought so much of those things to everyone
[00:14:46.670]he crossed paths with.
[00:14:48.299]He lived his 22 years on this unpredictable planet
[00:14:51.800]the right way.
[00:14:52.685]That's a little time. And I know he deserved more.
[00:14:55.256]There were so many more people who should've gotten a chance
[00:14:58.060]to know him and have their lives improved because of it.
[00:15:00.780]But now we all have a chance to do our part in his place.
[00:15:03.410]We can tell everyone we know who he was,
[00:15:05.144]what he was about and why it's a damn shame
[00:15:08.270]they didn't know him.
[00:15:09.920]We can live our lives and impact others the way he did in
[00:15:13.010]his short time with us.
[00:15:14.420]And that's the best way to honor and remember Evan.
[00:15:17.130]I can't describe how lucky I got freshman year of college to
[00:15:20.070]have Evan in the dorm room next to me.
[00:15:21.880]I didn't know him well for awhile,
[00:15:23.330]but he was always friendly and had something nice to say
[00:15:26.283]when just passing you in the hallway
[00:15:28.440]or seeing you on the elevator.
[00:15:29.930]He was so friendly and trustworthy from the start,
[00:15:31.870]the several kids on the floor,
[00:15:33.010]let him give them haircuts in the dorm bathroom,
[00:15:35.350]including me.
[00:15:36.560]It wasn't the most professional haircut I've gotten,
[00:15:38.500]but it was by far the one I'll remember the most.
[00:15:40.810]Thankfully we ended up being good friends before the end of
[00:15:43.800]the year and spending a lot of time together.
[00:15:45.766]One of the first times we hung out.
[00:15:46.723]A few of us were in his room and he was playing his guitar.
[00:15:49.476]I was already impressed by that,
[00:15:51.347]but he broke out his Bob Dylanesque,
[00:15:54.800]around the neck harmonica holder.
[00:15:56.810]That's not exactly considered to be the coolest instrument a
[00:15:59.130]guy can play.
[00:16:00.180]If it were me, I'd probably be a little embarrassed
[00:16:02.650]and wouldn't show it off until I knew the other people
[00:16:05.270]really well not Evan he was confident and he was good at it.
[00:16:08.921]He was going to be himself and do what he loved and you
[00:16:12.010]couldn't help, but love him for it.
[00:16:14.225]He really knew how to bring people together,
[00:16:16.550]especially through music.
[00:16:17.890]That's what I'm going to remember him by.
[00:16:20.220]I don't think I can listen to Dylan, or the Beatles, or Eric
[00:16:22.610]Church again, without thinking of him.
[00:16:24.163]And I listened to those guys almost as much as Evan did.
[00:16:26.557]So he's going to be on my mind a lot.
[00:16:29.060]Those are some of the artists that brought us together and
[00:16:31.300]I'm just happy that Evan gets to live on
[00:16:33.400]with me through them.
[00:16:34.498]Of course, with everyone in our lives,
[00:16:36.480]we have to take the good and the bad.
[00:16:38.110]Here are the worst things that I can say about Evan.
[00:16:40.300]Sometimes at parties, he would kill the mood
[00:16:42.040]by randomly playing a sixties folk song.
[00:16:44.397]He could ruin a history channel documentary by telling you
[00:16:47.200]all the facts in advance before the show could get to it.
[00:16:50.600]And he sent out entirely too many Snapchats.
[00:16:52.806]That's it? I can't,
[00:16:54.610]and I don't think anyone can actually think of a bad word to
[00:16:57.220]say about him.
[00:16:58.300]How many people could have that said about them?
[00:17:00.630]22 years of the criminally short time for a guy like that,
[00:17:03.675]we can't make any more memories with him or have him make us
[00:17:07.350]laugh again.
[00:17:08.210]He can no longer convince us to do pretty much anything just
[00:17:10.670]because you want to see him happy.
[00:17:12.260]And he won't be able to completely forget about himself and
[00:17:14.330]try to make you happy too.
[00:17:16.323]But despite that, if you knew him,
[00:17:18.442]you're still one of the lucky ones,
[00:17:20.210]the 99.99% of the people on earth never got to know him.
[00:17:23.058]You're part of the fortunate few, along with me that did.
[00:17:26.020]And for that, I'll be ever thankful.
[00:17:27.930]We all miss you so much Evan, rest in peace.
[00:17:32.130]So that's, you know, from my standpoint,
[00:17:35.140]that's the reason why we donated and created this
[00:17:37.840]scholarship for,
[00:17:38.990]to create avenues for people like Evan to study and do what
[00:17:44.020]they wanna do do in life.
[00:17:47.158]That's all I have really.
[00:17:50.102]Thank you, Don.
[00:17:51.450]And thank you, Don and Leannette for establishing
[00:17:53.396]a scholarship and providing that motivating
[00:17:57.570]and inspiring story about Evan.
[00:17:59.540]I hope all of our students remember that impact
[00:18:04.202]and move forward in their careers and the rest of their
[00:18:10.430]schooling to achieve similar impact.
[00:18:16.330]So thank you both so much.
[00:18:17.550]And for sharing Evan with us for the time he was here.
[00:18:21.378]So now I'd like to introduce Dr. Sue Kemp.
[00:18:24.453]Sue is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Special
[00:18:28.540]Education and Communication Disorders.
[00:18:31.100]She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Special
[00:18:34.388]Education, supervises and mentors students while they're in
[00:18:38.440]practicum or student teaching.
[00:18:40.029]She also provides academic advising for graduate students
[00:18:43.862]seeking a teaching credential.
[00:18:47.620]Dr. Kemp also developed and leads an annual Study Abroad
[00:18:51.556]experience to Costa Rica, not in 2020, but in other years.
[00:18:56.250]And she has mentored early career teachers and she's
[00:18:58.958]provided a number of invited and keynote presentations on
[00:19:03.330]developing para educators.
[00:19:05.078]So Sue is an example of paying it forward and I'm pleased to
[00:19:09.610]have her share some of her thoughts today.
[00:19:12.160]So Sue the microphone is yours.
[00:19:15.000]Welcome everybody.
[00:19:16.460]And I hope you get to meet the donors
[00:19:19.410]and actually form that personal connection,
[00:19:21.750]because that is the one thing that I really love the most
[00:19:25.847]about attending these as meeting the people and seeing the
[00:19:30.340]connections that are formed that can last a lifetime.
[00:19:34.297]And I think at least in the group that I was in,
[00:19:37.580]I definitely see that happening between the family and the
[00:19:41.419]recipient, so to the donors, you are all amazing.
[00:19:45.600]I mean, I can't say anything more.
[00:19:47.580]You are amazing.
[00:19:48.700]And I do see the benefits from the students.
[00:19:53.739]I see some of the students that I know that are right here,
[00:19:57.170]that I did not know were recipients.
[00:19:59.040]And so that's really pretty exciting.
[00:20:01.247]One of them is just coming into a group that I lead as a
[00:20:05.865]faculty representative coming on to our executive committee.
[00:20:09.787]And one's a former graduate assistant that I had last
[00:20:13.560]semester who was phenomenal.
[00:20:15.160]So it's really wonderful to see the benefits from the
[00:20:20.077]student's perspective.
[00:20:21.740]And I'm hoping you heard that today in the breakout
[00:20:23.997]groups, because it is,
[00:20:27.110]it relieves so much stress when the students are able to get
[00:20:32.720]some financial assistance. Times have changed a lot.
[00:20:35.839]And I know having to work my way through college
[00:20:40.050]was really, really challenging.
[00:20:42.008]And I know how hard is on my students when they're having to
[00:20:45.720]work when they're balancing that, they're balancing classes,
[00:20:51.020]and they're balancing this world of Zoom I mean,
[00:20:53.490]this is tough I know from an instructor side,
[00:20:57.159]it's really hard to make people feel connected and feel part
[00:21:01.250]of a class in that learning community.
[00:21:03.277]And I know on the student's side,
[00:21:06.170]I am reading their posts of how much they're struggling with
[00:21:09.860]balancing, you know the work and how do I get it done.
[00:21:13.450]And I'm not supposed to necessarily in a class.
[00:21:16.420]And it's a lot right now.
[00:21:19.338]And I know that this is very appreciated.
[00:21:23.070]So I hope all of the donors really know that. I'm speaking
[00:21:27.600]specifically as, as Dean Jones said, I do,
[00:21:31.320]I did sadly lead an annual trip to Costa Rica that I do hope
[00:21:35.611]to get back.
[00:21:36.930]And the focus of the trip is really comparing
[00:21:40.230]educational systems.
[00:21:41.462]I think sometimes there's a misnomer that students travel
[00:21:45.340]abroad and they just go and they play and they run around
[00:21:48.182]and we hope they do some of that and have fun.
[00:21:51.173]But the part of this trip is they're really learning.
[00:21:54.310]What does this,
[00:21:55.920]the educational system look like in the United States across
[00:22:00.770]the country?
[00:22:01.740]And then what does it look specifically in another country?
[00:22:05.010]And they really are able to learn the differences,
[00:22:08.618]appreciate the differences.
[00:22:10.633]And I think one of the most amazing pieces
[00:22:14.090]is the donors that are funding some of these students to go
[00:22:18.910]because it is life changing.
[00:22:20.109]They live with a local family, which is terrifying.
[00:22:24.874]They are very scared day one going into the situation.
[00:22:29.158]And by the time we leave, two weeks later,
[00:22:32.440]they are bawling their eyes out, leaving their family.
[00:22:35.861]And that is an amazing process to be able to see
[00:22:40.750]the students I know have stayed connected
[00:22:42.770]with their families as we weren't able to go back this year.
[00:22:46.850]A lot of the students in former years were able to reach out
[00:22:50.870]on Facebook or on Zoom and just connect with them because
[00:22:55.130]the local community is struggling because they've shut down.
[00:22:58.170]And they're really based on tourism.
[00:23:00.592]So specifically seeing lives change with the students,
[00:23:04.624]with the ability to go on the trip with the donors,
[00:23:08.940]help has been great.
[00:23:10.550]And seeing the students in my own classes that I know that
[00:23:14.470]they're able to better focus on their studies because
[00:23:16.780]they're not having to work so much so thank you.
[00:23:20.420]That's all I can say is thank you. Thank you.
[00:23:23.350]If you are recipient, think about paying it forward,
[00:23:27.548]helping somebody else in the future.
[00:23:30.090]So it's something that think about you can give at some
[00:23:33.900]point too, probably not now,
[00:23:35.690]but as you can established in your own careers,
[00:23:38.191]being able to help somebody else that's struggling.
[00:23:41.410]So thank you.
[00:23:42.910]I wish I could see you all in person
[00:23:44.860]and hopefully we'll be there next year.
[00:23:48.980]Thank you, Sue.
[00:23:50.550]And let me say thank you to all of our speakers,
[00:23:53.450]for your inspiration and motivational words. Students,
[00:23:57.890]I hope the words you've heard today will inspire you
[00:24:01.040]and you will think of them often.
[00:24:03.070]And as Sue said, find your ways to pay it forward
[00:24:06.320]in your career and in your communities.
[00:24:08.472]Once again, thank you to our donors for your support
[00:24:12.960]and partnership to shepard the next generation of leaders
[00:24:17.050]in education, health and wellness, human services,
[00:24:20.640]hospitality, and fashion industries.
[00:24:23.615]And now let me just make a few final announcements before we
[00:24:26.833]close today.
[00:24:28.762]Todd, is there anything else that,
[00:24:31.614]is there any other words that you would like to say before I
[00:24:35.140]close with some announcements?
[00:24:39.370]Much the same of great appreciation.
[00:24:41.469]And again, I think Claire said it thanks for saying yes
[00:24:46.083]to the donors and making this changing environment
[00:24:51.480]happen for the students.
[00:24:53.060]But beyond that, I'll leave it to you.
[00:24:56.040]Thank you, Todd.
[00:24:57.350]So first let me say thank you to Madison Woltemath
[00:25:01.320]Melanie Kellogg, Sandie Hager for all of your work
[00:25:05.760]to have this virtual event and Kaitlin as well.
[00:25:08.940]I see you are on Kaitlin thank you too.
[00:25:12.012]And preparing the special packets
[00:25:14.111]that our donors will receive.
[00:25:16.480]And donors, please watch for your packet to arrive
[00:25:19.710]in the mail by the end of October,
[00:25:21.640]we are working to get those prepared
[00:25:23.530]and hope those will reach you before the end of the month.
[00:25:26.490]The Foundation: Todd, Ronna, and Mike would be happy
[00:25:32.100]to facilitate a longer conversation between donors
[00:25:36.410]and their scholarship recipients
[00:25:38.291]or to connect donors with students.
[00:25:41.250]If that couldn't happen today.
[00:25:42.710]So I know we had a few scholarship recipients who couldn't
[00:25:45.750]be here today,
[00:25:46.930]or perhaps the students were here and our donors couldn't.
[00:25:50.000]So the foundation would be happy
[00:25:51.980]to help make those connections.
[00:25:53.733]We are also developing a web page to highlight and celebrate
[00:25:59.500]our college scholarships and fellowships.
[00:26:01.980]We hope to have it live by the end of October.
[00:26:04.615]So please check the college webpage for that.
[00:26:07.887]If we have it ready to go,
[00:26:10.970]we'll put a little note about where to go in your
[00:26:13.837]scholarship packet that our donors will receive
[00:26:17.750]a recording of today's event will be posted there
[00:26:20.458]along with other information.
[00:26:22.540]So I hope you will check that out and I'm very pleased that
[00:26:26.007]we'll have that available and it will remain a feature
[00:26:29.746]on our website.
[00:26:32.204]Melanie, I just wanna make sure I haven't missed
[00:26:35.570]any announcements from the college side.
[00:26:39.287]No, we're good.
[00:26:41.260]Okay, wonderful.
[00:26:42.520]Well then let me say thank you all for coming today.
[00:26:45.630]I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
[00:26:47.700]I hope you stay safe and stay healthy and please have
[00:26:51.910]a wonderful day and thank you all for coming.

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2020 Scholarship Donor Virtual Reception

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