Students meet the donors who make their dreams possible

Tulane University endowed scholarship recipients received an opportunity to meet the donors supporting their studies during the 2017 Celebration of Scholarship event held in the Glazer Family Club at Yulman Stadium.

As a jazz trio played in the background, nearly 200 student-scholars and endowed scholarship benefactors joined together to network and learn a little bit about each other on Sunday (March 19).

This year marks the second annual Celebration of Scholarship, a burgeoning new Green Wave tradition dedicated to celebrating the impact of philanthropy in the lives of students and benefactors.

“After meeting my donors, I realized that that I’m not just going to law school for myself. I am doing it to carry on the legacy of a student who was just as passionate in environmental law as I am.”

First-year law student Grace Hancock

“This event is a special one, because it offers such an exclusive opportunity to bring everyone together to reflect on how scholarships have the capacity to change lives for both the recipient and the donor,” said Robin Forman, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

Grace Hancock, a first-year law student from Atlanta and recipient of the Courtney Harrington LeBoeuf Environmental Law Scholarship Endowment, said after learning the fund was made in memory of the donor’s daughter, she discovered there was much more meaning behind her attendance at Tulane.

“I’ve learned that my scholarship was more than a name on a piece of paper. After meeting my donors, I realized that that I’m not just going to law school for myself. I am doing it to carry on the legacy of a student who was just as passionate in environmental law as I am,” said Hancock.

Inspired by her own experience of such generosity, keynote speaker Victoria Reggie Kennedy, both a Newcomb College and Tulane law alumna, also shared her story on how a scholarship changed the course of her family’s life and how essential it is to return the favor.

“Thanks to an initial scholarship awarded to my father, Judge Edmund Reggie, my family was able to have the Tulane dream,” said Kennedy. “Tulane changes lives, and I hope everyone keeps giving back for the next generation of scholars.”

Student speaker and scholarship recipient of the Dr. Robert L. and Sterling P. Allen Scholarship and Robert Chadwick Hills Medical Scholarship Josh Treloar closed by addressing donors and explaining how scholarship made it possible for him to achieve his dream to deliver medical care to many underserved communities.

“When you invest in Tulane, you are investing in a community of service and that investment is appreciated in helping a new generation of scholars continue the Tulane tradition to give back through service and charity.”

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