scholarship

Following the Music

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Scholarship helps student pursue dreams.

Morgan Anderson ’22 already has three degrees from Germanna Community College, including one in early childhood education. She now is majoring in music at the University of Mary Washington and plans to teach elementary school.

“I have always prioritized education and believe it is the critical foundation for success,” says Morgan.

She is grateful to be the 2020-2021 recipient of the Myrtle Hollins Isbell Scholarship. The scholarship honors the life and memory of Myrtle Hollins Isbell, who graduated from Mary Washington College in 1923 and became a home economics teacher.

As a full-time student at UMW, Morgan works several jobs to help pay for school. She is currently a part-time teaching assistant at a preschool in her hometown of Culpeper and also babysits on the weekends. The Isbell Scholarship offers Morgan financial reassurance during her time at Mary Washington and provides her with the opportunity to make her education the top priority.

After graduation, Morgan plans to enroll in UMW’s Master of Education program to earn her teaching license for music education, but her plans do not stop there.  “As an educator, you are continuously learning and thriving with the children you encounter,” says Morgan. Her passion and dedication to learning and educating others makes Morgan successful and serves as an inspiration to all.

Written by Darlene Mugisha ’21

Mapping Success

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Scholarships help student discover route to success.

English is her first major, but Beth Devine ’21 fell in love with the UMW geography department after taking an Intro to GIS course with Dr. Stephen Hanna and a Weather and Climate course with Dr. Jackie Gallagher. After seeing the passion and the tight-knit community within the Geography department, Beth declared Geography as a second major.

She was grateful for the help of three separate scholarships during her time at Mary Washington. Beth is the current recipient of the Geography Alumni Scholarship, and she previously received the Marguerite J. Helbush Scholarship in English, and the Susan J. Hanna Endowed Scholarship in English.

Outside the classroom, Beth has been awarded numerous opportunities to work in geography with professors and other students. In the summer of 2019, she assisted Dr. Marco Millones in editing and preparing labs for an introductory GIS course for Spanish speakers.

 In 2020, Beth had the opportunity to work on Dr. Hanna’s plantation research team, which visited presidential plantations and observed how these museums presented the lives of enslaved people who once lived there. Beth was also invited to join Dr. Hanna’s cartography practicum, where she and two other students created a campus accessibility map for UMW’s Office of Disability series of hiking trail maps for an official hiking guide of Hocking Hills, Ohio.

In addition to Geography and GIS, Beth also works as a department aide for the Geography department. Beth helped restructure the Geography Club, and she currently serves as its president. Last summer, Beth also served as a Cartography intern with the Federal Government.

After graduating from UMW, Beth plans to pursue a master’s in Geography, Cartography, or International Relations. “Geography has become a special part of my UMW experience, and I owe a lot of my success to the Department’s constant support.” says Beth.

Written by Darlene Mugisha ’21

Giving Day Brings UMW ‘All Together’ on April 13

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There’s no time like spring at the University of Mary Washington, and there’s no day like Giving Day. Mary Wash Giving Day returns this year on April 13, and the University community near and far – alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents and friends – is invited to join the celebration.

This year’s theme, #AllTogetherUMW, serves as a reminder of what can be accomplished when supporters join forces for a common purpose: to benefit students through funding for academic, athletic, arts, leadership, service, career and cultural programs. And this year’s goal — 3,000 gifts to areas across the University during the 24-hour online event — emphasizes each donor’s impact on the student experience.

Also known as “Mary Wash Day,” the initiative has grown exponentially since its 2017 inception, and with 2020’s event canceled amidst the growing pandemic, UMW’s Annual Giving team is pulling out all the stops this year. Dynamic leaderboards, matching funds and social media challenges will add to the excitement as the day’s progress is tracked live.

The University has benefited from strong private support for more than a century, and donors’ gifts have provided an essential boost throughout the past year. As student need grows and UMW adapts to a rapidly changing world, Giving Day gifts are more valuable than ever. On the Mary Wash Giving Day website, on April 13, donors will be able to provide direct financial assistance to students through the General Scholarship Fund or the Technology Assistance Fund, or support the University’s most pressing needs through the Fund for Mary Washington. Gifts will strengthen diversity and inclusion initiatives, and bolster campus preservation, student life, and other areas that define the UMW difference.

In addition to marking the calendar for April 13, the Mary Washington community is asked to help spread the word on social media by tagging their posts with #AllTogetherUMW and #MaryWashDay. In 2019, more than 300 Giving Day Ambassadors inspired more than 1,000 additional gifts by posting and sharing. Anyone can sign up as a Giving Day ambassador, and receive access to a custom dashboard and toolkit, at givingday.umw.edu.

Visit the FAQ page for more information about Mary Wash Giving Day.

Honoring a Master

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Privately funded faculty award for English professors recognizes the value of extraordinary teaching.

Donald E. Glover as pictured in the 1971 edition of The Battlefield.

In 1971, the average cost of a postage stamp was 8 cents; Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida; and Intel released its first microprocessor. In Fredericksburg, Virginia, a Mary Washington English professor made an indelible impression on a member of the Class of 1971.

Fifty years later, that alumna has fully funded a new faculty award to honor the memory of Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English Donald E. Glover. During his tenure, Dr. Glover was a widely respected and beloved member of the faculty. He began teaching at Mary Washington in 1961 and served as department chair from 1970-73. Glover retired in 1998 after 37 years of service; he passed away in August of 2020.

While the donor still wishes to remain anonymous, she first alerted the University in 2018 of her intentions as defined in her estate plans. She then requested that Glover be informed so he would know how important his teaching had been to her during those formative years at Mary Washington.

Dr. Gary Richards, professor and chair of the Department of English and Linguistics, met with Glover in 2018 to share news of this faculty award, as well as the future creation of a named endowed scholarship.

In 2018, Dr. Gary Richards (left) met Dr. Donald E. Glover (right) and shared news of two special gifts from a former English student.

“Don was long retired when I became Chair,” says Richards, “but this award brought me in contact with him and his lovely wife, Alice. Even though he was already struggling with his health then, I got a glimpse of the professor who made such an impact on our donor. I am delighted that Don Glover is being honored in this way.”

The donor recalls that Glover was light on lectures, yet strategically led his students to understand and appreciate works of literature by asking questions to stimulate critical thinking and discussion. She says students learned for themselves as they came to realize the full meaning and importance of what they had read. She decided to go ahead and fund this award now in the hope that English faculty can follow in Glover’s footsteps, while having a positive and lasting impact on students’ lives.

Richards says the award’s focus on teaching acknowledges Glover’s long and distinguished career at Mary Washington. “This award documents the life-impacting teaching that professors in our department have been doing for decades,” says Richards. “It also documents the generosity of this alumna, who so carefully looked backwards to her experiences at UMW and forward to other students’ experiences.”

While the department is fine-tuning details for the application and evaluation process, Richards stresses the value of this new faculty award for an outstanding professor of English. “This is in perfect keeping with UMW’s focus on undergraduate teaching and stands to buoy faculty who are exerting such winning energies in this arena,” he says. “And, as I hope we all know, affirmed and energized professors carry that excitement into the classroom, which in turn energizes students.”

Details for applying for the new Donald E. Glover Faculty Award will be available soon.

For information about establishing estate gifts or funding endowed awards and scholarships, contact the Office of Advancement at advance@umw.edu or 540-846-0470. UMW honors requests for anonymity.

 

Article written by Donna Harter, Executive Director of Advancement Initiatives