- Bequest helps Derby High School students pursue career in education
- Norma Botti’s fund distributes 10 Scholarships in 10 Years, and counting
- Students receive scholarship awards
In Ms. Botti’s class you had to earn the grade.
The beloved teacher of romance languages taught at Derby High School for 4 decades. And many of her former students – who still live or work in the Lower Naugatuck Valley – will tell you that she wasn’t shy about correcting you for mispronunciation.
Ms. Botti turned her passion for teaching into a wonderful legacy when she made a bequest that established a scholarship fund at The Foundation eleven years ago for Derby High School students.
The Botti Fund has helped 10 students realize their dream of teaching since its inception. It awarded $5,000 in ’08 – the most ever to this year’s recipient who will attend The University of Connecticut.
Like Norma Botti, you too can give educational opportunities to others. Contact Angel Fernandez- Chavero at (203) 777-7072 or afernandez@cfgnh.org or Jamie Cohen at (203) 225-0880 at the Valley Community Foundation for more information on how to create a fund to support education.
Imagine for a moment what it would feel like to be a graduate of college and debt free . . . the world at your fingers, ready for you to make your mark. This is the opportunity that Gary and Jackie Childress are giving to the students who earn their scholarship.
“Tuition costs are very high at private universities. Most offered financial packages include large amounts of debt,” says Gary. “We are helping to close the financial gap for students so they can attend the college or university of their choice without the fear of graduating with huge debt.”
“The first scholarship came through our church," recalls Gary. "We knew a family whose son wanted to attend Ithaca College and had been accepted. We wanted to help with the debt segment of the package Ithaca offered. I thought all we had to do was write a check to the school on behalf of the student. It wasn’t that easy.”
When Gary called the college and offered to pay the young man's tuition, he was more than a little baffled by the response.
“Several of Ithaca's officials said they would not accept the payment," explains Gary. "They were short of courteous and gave no explanation. Ithaca's president wouldn't talk to me."Gary is a graduate of Stanford, so he called and asked them for an explanation. They were very helpful explaining the tax implications and suggested he contact a community foundation.
Another problem proved to be that many schools deduct from their financial package any additional scholarship monies won from their pure scholarship awards. This negates what the Childress Family fund is trying to accomplish - reducing the amount of debt incurred by students for their education.Following the advice of his alma matter, Gary contacted The Foundation in 2001 to create an unendowed scholarship fund. Having only to pay a minimal annual fee of 1.25 percent, Gary and Jackie get to participate in the recipient selection process and to take a tax deduction each year.
The Childress Family Scholarship is open to any student who’s part of a schools’ scholarship society. Its purpose is to close the gap between a student's ability to pay tuition costs at a state university tuition level and the cost of tuition at an accredited college or university chosen for its highly regarded department in the student's field of study.
“Award winners are chosen on the basis of their academic achievement, then by financial need,” says Gary. Funding is available for four years so long as the student maintains a C or better average. The award is not limited to geographic region of either student or university, nor type of study or school. Student selection is typically made in April.
Rosa Nieves didn’t go to Florida for Spring Break like so many other college seniors. Instead, she dug rows and put in an irrigation system for families in La Goyena, Nicaragua so that they will be able to grow food when the rain season comes.
Why Nicaragua? A fellow RA at college, who a delegate to the country and raising money for school supplies for its children, sparked Nieve’s interest. That interest turned into a trip to Central America, which was made possible through the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University and New Haven Sister Cities, Inc., an affiliate of Sister Cities International that promotes an awareness of the cultures and customs of foreign cities.
“It’s hard to explain it,” says Nieves, who was one of the students featured in a documentary about the trip entitled The Road Less Traveled. “It’s just one of those things you have to experience. The best part about it was the opportunity to play with the kids. I experienced so much love and sadness at the same time because of the poverty.”
Nieves was awarded two consecutive scholarships from the Dr. Tammis Sholin Miller Scholarship Fund at The Foundation which subsidized her studies at Quinnipiac University. The fund was established in 1995 by the estate of Dr. Miller and memorial gifts of family and friends. Each award was presented to Nieves by Mrs. Miller, Dr. Miller’s widow.
“I remember the first time I received the scholarship,” recalls Nieves. “I sent Mrs. Miller a thank you letter and told her about school and she sent a response. I appreciate everything she did for me, not only in her gift of scholarship but her interest in knowing who I was as a student…she is very genuine…a very loving woman and her family is really cool too.”
Nieves graduated magna cum laude from Quinnipiac this May with a degree in Sociology and was bestowed four other honors: Outstanding Senior, the Morris Wosko award for exceptional achievement in the College of Liberal Arts, a listing in Who’s Who among students in American Universities & Colleges and a place on the Dean’s list. She also became the first woman in her family to graduate college – a distinction which has made her relatives, mom in particular, very proud.
Nieves says she will return to Nicaragua one day to visit her host family in Leon and the children she loved to play with. But for now, the plan is “definitely grad school.” After that, maybe the Peace Corps or teaching English in Nicaragua.
“I want to give something back to the community more than ever now. Not just locally but globally,” says Nieves.