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Hope for the Future

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Scholarship helps UMW senior look forward to aspirational career.

During the past several months, a UMW senior has faced job loss, financial uncertainty, homelessness, and hopelessness. “In August, I thought I was going to have to live in my car,” says Dela. “Fortunately, someone at UMW helped me find a place on campus so I averted disaster that time.”

Due to an unstable family situation, Dela does not have the support of her parents – financial or otherwise. Since her early teenage years, Dela has been working hard and struggling to save money to fund her dream of receiving a college degree. At times, her goal seemed out of reach when savings from extra-curricular babysitting jobs was tapped to pay her family’s rent.

Overcoming these and other hurdles in high school, she was thrilled to be accepted at Mary Washington. It quickly became her home and her safe space. She received the Marjorie Jean Frost ’44 Scholarship to help with tuition. She found employment on campus, worked off-campus jobs, volunteered at Hope House through UMW’s Community Outreach and Resources (COAR) program, and still found time and energy to pursue two majors and two minors. She had a plan to earn enough money to pay for each semester through graduation in May 2021. Then, COVID-19 changed everything.

“In the spring and summer of 2020, my campus jobs and my off-campus jobs were either reduced or eliminated,” she says. “I could not go back home, and I had no safe place to live.” She eventually found a less-than-ideal place to live temporarily, but then fall move-in was delayed due to COVID and she faced a housing gap that could extend weeks or longer.

Fortunately, she was able to live on campus then and during the 2020/2021 winter break. Through all this, she remains grateful for the donor who provided her scholarship, and she is holding on to her career aspirations of becoming a child advocacy lawyer or a social worker.

“No child should have to endure the types of hardships or stresses I have experienced,” she says. “I had no control of my own childhood at all, but someday I hope to be able to redirect the future and help others like me.”

The UMW Eagle Resource Closet provides necessities at no cost to anyone who is facing food insecurity or may need toiletries, clothing, and other essentials. All items are donated and may be “ordered” through an anonymous online system.

Gayle Mitchell, director of the Rappahannock Scholars Program at UMW, says Mary Washington students often face similar situations, many of which have been made worse by the pandemic.

“The University made alternative living arrangements for several students so they would be safe and have access to internet, food, and necessities,” says Gayle. “There is always need for financial aid and private scholarships – especially for first-generation students and those from low-income families. Now, we also are seeing need for food, shelter, and other incidentals.”

Director of Financial Aid Timothy Saulnier explains that the amount of financial aid a student receives is based on a calculation using parent and student information from a federal application form. “A parent’s refusal to help is not a factor in determining expected family contribution (EFC) or amount of need,” says Timothy. “This is where flexible emergency funding that is not based on defined need could provide essential support in special circumstances.”

For more information about funding a scholarship or helping with emergency student needs, visit fund.umw.edu or contact the Office of University Advancement at advance@umw.edu.

NOTE: The student profiled above requested her full name be withheld for privacy purposes.

 

Article written by Donna Harter, Executive Director of Advancement Initiatives

From a Hurricane to a Pandemic …

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Oscar Leon ’22 is grateful for scholarships that enable him to serve as a peer mentor and orientation leader.

In the fall of 2017, Oscar Leon was living in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. His family’s home remained standing, but they were without power and consistent running water for several months. His school theatre, however, was completely decimated.

“At first, the future seemed dismal,” says Oscar. “But the community came together to rebuild everything, and the theatre was ready in time for my senior play that spring.”

In August 2018, Oscar and his family moved to Spotyslvania County, and Oscar began classes at UMW. He was grateful to receive a scholarship and a Pell grant, but admits he had trouble adapting to life in Virginia and at UMW.

That all changed when a professor nominated him to be a peer mentor and orientation leader. Over the next two years, with help from the Albert R. Klein, Catherine Brown Simpson ’36, and June Davis McCormick ’49 scholarships, Oscar found time to study, act in plays, and serve as a mentor to students in the first-year seminar program.

“I finally found my place at Mary Washington,” says Oscar, “I tried to do it alone my first year, but everything really is better with friends and peers. Thanks to my scholarships and the Heritage Society donors who created them, I don’t worry as much about paying tuition or dealing with student loans. That, too, has made a big difference.”

In the spring of 2020, Oscar once again faced the possibility of having a much-anticipated theatrical performance canceled when the COVID-19 pandemic led to the suspension of on-campus classes and events. He was thrilled, however, when the cast of Much Ado About Nothing was able to perform the play via online streaming.

As a junior theatre major, Oscar works in the Klein Theatre management office and is learning other practical and marketable skills. While his career goal is to become an actor in New York City, he has learned firsthand that you must plan for the unexpected.

For information about creating scholarships for students, contact the Office of Advancement at advance@umw.edu or 540-654-1024.

 

Article written by Donna Harter, Executive Director of Advancement Initiatives

Make Your IRA Gift Count

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After 36 years in the field of education, Patricia Boise Kemp ’69 retired from teaching AP computer science and calculus in Prince William County Schools. Today, she is applying those math skills to philanthropy by serving on the UMW Foundation Board of Directors and by maximizing her IRA rollover to support UMW students and programs.

Patti also is a member of the UMW Washington Society, Heritage Society, and President’s Council. Through the years she has contributed to the Fund for Mary Washington, UMW Athletics, two Class of 1969 scholarships, and a scholarship named for Professor Emeritus of Physics Bulent Atalay.

“When I was a young student from New Jersey, I technically did not qualify for financial assistance,” says Patti. “It was often a struggle to pay for everything, and I remember wishing I could get a scholarship based on my grades.” Recently, Patti utilized her IRA rollovers to create two Patricia Boise Kemp ’69 Scholarships for out-of-state students with high academic credentials.

“At my age, using my IRA for charitable purposes is a win-win,” says Patti. “I am required to take out a distribution every year, so I just designate a portion of my funds straight to Mary Washington. That way I don’t have to pay taxes on the qualified charitable distribution, and UMW gets the full amount to use for students.”

Patti maintains close contact with the University, previously serving as president of the Alumni Association and volunteering often for special events and committees. “I’m lucky to live close enough to interact and see firsthand all the amazing things our students are doing,” she says. “I am especially proud of our alumni who are leading fulfilling lives while pursuing successful careers. My gifts may help one or two students a year, but as they graduate and go out into the world, the impact continues to multiply.”

Making mandatory IRA distributions work for you and Mary Washington
If you are 70 1/2 or older and own an IRA or other qualified retirement plan, consider making an IRA charitable rollover gift. You can direct up to $100,000 per year to charitable organizations of your choice. An IRA rollover gift has several significant advantages:

  • It allows you to give from pre-tax assets.
  • It satisfies your annual required minimum distribution, or RMD, up to the amount of your gift.
  • It simplifies the giving process.
  • It helps avoid limits on charitable deductions and may prevent you from being pushed into a higher tax bracket.

Contact your IRA custodian or the UMW Office of Gift Planning at jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064 for tools and strategies available to help you reach your goals.