Scholarship matters … Scholarships matter at UW-Green Bay
Student scholarships make a huge difference in the lives of UW-Green Bay students who receive them and the donors who give. This video explores that impact.
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“It makes a big difference for me just because I am paying for school on my own, so I have a lot of loans and stuff,” said UW-Green Bay student Brittany Brocker. “And anything that I don’t have to pay back is fantastic, because I work a lot.”
Scholarships have made a similar difference for UW-Green Bay senior Ryan Stewart.
“Scholarships help relieve the stress and help relieve the hours that I’m working,” Stewart said. “So less stress, less work hours is definitely beneficial.”
For Student Government Association president Heba Mohammad, a recent scholarship offered the chance to travel — and connect the classroom with the world beyond it.
“The scholarship that I was able to receive was a Global Studies Scholarship,” she said, “and that scholarship is funded solely through professors, which is really awesome and really intense for me to understand that professors are willing to put their money forward to help a student like me travel and experience those kinds of things.”
The Anne C. Kok Memorial Scholarship holds special meaning for Social Work Associate Prof. Jolanda Sallmann, a former colleague. Kok died in a car crash in 2008.
“It’s really a nice way to, you know, recognize her legacy,” Sallmann said, “and continue to make change that she would’ve liked to have seen made — both exposing students to these international issues, but helping support them in their efforts to create some sort of more socially just society.”
A face-to-face meaning can give additional meaning to the donor-student relationship. Freshman Nonglee Moua had the chance to meet her donors, Trustee Mike Jackson and his wife Debi, on campus this fall. For Moua, the award is making a huge difference.
“If I didn’t get this scholarship I actually probably would have (taken) a second job over the summer — actually no, I would’ve (taken) a third job over the summer and probably worked two jobs outside of school,” Moua said. She paused and added with a smile, “and I would probably be living on Ramen noodles and eggs.”
Getting to know Moua makes their scholarship gift that much more meaningful, Mike and Debi Jackson said.
“It’s a little emotional, it is, to meet her, see the person that’s going to get the money, that’s going to benefit from something that we did,” Mike Jackson said. “It brings the reality of doing something like this that you know is the right thing to do but then you bring the human element back into it because we have the opportunity to meet her. That kind of completes the circle.”
The UW-Green Bay Founders Association Board is invested in helping students through scholarships and other means, said Board President Rob Cera.
(See a photo gallery of the second annual Founders Association Scholarship Reception held October 19, 2012 on the UW-Green Bay campus.)
“Founders Board members are passionate about wanting to find ways to make meaningful financial differences in the lives of students,” Cera said, “and certainly through the scholarship program that is involved in and run through the UWGB Founders Board group.”
And those students can’t wait to say thanks …
“I’d just like to say thank you for my scholarships,” Brocker said. “It’s really important to me since I’m paying for school on my own. I can’t say thank you enough.”
“Thank you to the family of Craig a. Mueller, as well as all the other donors,” Stewart said. “You guys have made a big difference.”
“You guys inspired me,” Moua added. “Yes.”
“Thank you to anyone who donates money to these programs,” Mohammad said. “I really can’t express how much of a difference they make to students’ experiences in college and just in general in life.
(This text closely approximates the embedded video’s audio content, including narration and interviews, and may include additional detail.)
