From left to right: Shirley Gerber, Sophie Brenner, Murray Gerber
The Annual Endowed Scholarship Luncheon in honor of the 2009-2010 University of New Haven scholarship donors and recipients was held on Wednesday, October 7, in the Alumni Lounge in Bartels Hall, the campus center.
More than 39 donors of endowed scholarships were in attendance, accompanied by the students who had been awarded the scholarships. This year, more than $285,000 was awarded from endowed scholarships to more than 140 deserving UNH students.
Isabella Dodds and John Capozzo
New scholarships announced this year are:
- The Nathan D. Crowell Endowed Scholarship
- Richard and Michelle Ward Endowed Scholarship
- Geraldine Hughes Brekke and Gail L. Brekke Endowed Scholarship
- McGough Family Endowed Scholarship
- The Samuel S. Bergami and Lois E. Bergami Endowed Scholarship
- Biermacher Family Endowed Scholarship
- Gerald O. Cavallo-Special Metals Company Endowed Scholarship
- Phillip Kaplan Endowed Scholarship
The Endowed Scholarship Luncheon emcee was Dr. Dennis McGough, ’81 M.S. McGough has been a member of the industrial/organizational psychology faculty at UNH for 27 years. This year, he and his wife Donna endowed the McGough Family Endowed Scholarship noting that both of them had received scholarships and that they felt an obligation to help others achieve their educational goals.
James Hilaire
UNH senior James Hilaire, student-recipient speaker during the luncheon, received a standing ovation for his address. A native of Haiti who moved to Stamford when he was 14, James spoke about the numerous challenges he faced as a child who had lost his mother at an early age, as a non-English speaker in a new country and as an ambitious student who needed financial assistance to afford a college education. He also spoke about the near-fatal injury he received during a soccer game last year.
“Without all of the people in my life who have helped me through these challenges, I would not be standing here today,” Hilaire told the audience. “I would not be living in this wonderful country, I would not be speaking English, I would not be alive. And today, I want to say thank you to all of you who give money so students like me can go to this school. The great thing about going to school here at the University of New Haven, and taking courses in a subject that is meaningful to me, is that now, no matter what happened to me on the soccer field last year, I have a future.“
Dean Richard Ward, President Steven Kaplan and Michelle Ward
For information on how you can change the lives of UNH students by establishing an endowed scholarship, call Tim Stanton, at 203-932-7268, or make a gift online at: https://alumni.newhaven.edu/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=201&srcid=183)
Click Here to view the entire photo gallery from the 2009 Endowed Scholarship Luncheon!
