Shepherd's Foundation hosts donor/scholar reception

ISSUED: 10 October 2007
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
(Shepherd's Foundation hosts donor/scholar reception)

Editor's Note: Click on the thumbnail below for a printable image.

Pictured above (l. to r.) are students Linda Grubb, Erika Osborne, and Adin Ray.

Shepherdstown, WV--The Shepherd University Foundation, along with University president Dr. Suzanne Shipley and her husband Randall Wadsworth, hosted a donor/scholar reception Sunday, September 30, on the lawn of the president's home, Popodicon. Close to 300 guests attended the event, which included Shepherd alumni and friends who have established scholarships for Shepherd students and the student recipients of these scholarships.

Guests were welcomed by Shipley and Ray Alvarez, president of the Shepherd University Foundation. Monica Lingenfelter, executive vice president for the Foundation, introduced scholarship recipients Adin Ray, Erika Osborne, and Linda Grubb who spoke about the impact scholarships have made on their lives.

"My scholarship has allowed me to keep going," said Ray, a senior and Student Government president. "I am very grateful. I hope to one day help other students like me."

"I have been blessed with a very supportive family," said Osborne, a senior music education major. "But I needed more financial help to stay in school. The willing support of generous donors has made my education possible."

Grubb, a senior in psychology and political science, credits her scholarships for helping make her dream come true. "I wanted to go to college after I graduated from Martinsburg High School in 1957, but there was no money. In 2002, I started back at Shepherd, taking one class at a time, determined to get my degree and with the help of scholarships, have been a full-time student for the past year and a half. I'm almost there."

"We hold this event every two years to bring generous donors and the thankful recipients of their scholarships together," said Lingenfelter. "We want students to recognize that scholarships are real gifts from real people and that they have a responsibility to give back when they can."

More than 400 endowed and annually funded scholarship awards are provided through the Foundation, totaling more than $1 million. For more information about creating a scholarship, contact the Foundation at 304/876-5397.

-30-HORST

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