The Maecenas Fund > Current Newsletter

To all our friends:

This is a continuation of the previous letter reviewing the trip Chuck Bush and I took to Phoenix in early March of this year. This time it is about our Scholars.

In order to set the context, here is a summary of our Scholars at the time of our visit:

Four are finishing up their Junior year at Arizona State University;
Five are finishing up their Sophomore year at ASU; and
Five are finishing up their Freshman year at ASU.

I know, I know. It looks like we are a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASU. But we are not. We do not guide our Scholars on school choice. When asked, we will offer perspective, but only when asked. ASU is so popular for several reasons. It is a good school with a very broad array of choices for a student to major in. Moreover, it is convenient for local students, and allows them greater access to their families and other support networks than might be the case further away.

What is most telling about our fourteen Scholars is this: They are the entire number of students to whom we have awarded scholarships so far. Not one of our Scholars has dropped out of college. Yet, if the typical metrics for ASU students coming from the Phoenix Union School District were to apply, instead of 14 students in college, we would only have four.

Here is the singular factor to which we attribute the “staying at it” rate of our Scholars: We have a personal relationship with each one of our Scholars Simple though this sounds, it makes all the difference in the world, particularly on two fronts:

They know we care about them and will work within our abilities and limits to help them succeed. They are not used to many people believing in them, and the power of this support turns out to be much more than we had ever expected.

By staying in touch with our Scholars, we have been able to pull in other, non-financial, resources to help out, well before it became too late.

These students have not typically grown up surrounded by the expectations of success that typically attend an upper-middle class upbringing. Yet, they are showing that they have every bit of the intelligence, drive and commitment to succeed that others from more privileged backgrounds often have.

Here are some sparkling examples:

Brooke – Finishing her Junior year
Brooke had been doing a pre-med major her first two years at ASU. At the end of her Sophomore year, she decided to change to getting a Bachelor’s of Science degree in nursing.

Simple enough, one might think. But that would not be true. It turns out that the ASU Nursing School is one of the most competitive schools at ASU, with its own entrance requirements, including a test and minimum GPA. While Brooke aced the entrance test at the end of her Sophomore year, her GPA, at 3.8, was just a few one-hundredths of a point off the level required to be admitted to the Nursing School.

Cynthia – Finishing her Sophomore year
Cynthia is majoring in Construction Management, typically a macho-male domain. While she was challenged early on, her native intelligence and commitment thrust aside these challenges. Academically, she is doing very well. But, on more practical note, and despite being female and the youngest member of the team, she was the leader of a construction management team that competed at the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) annual competition earlier this year.

The ASC Competition was held in Reno, and Cynthia’s team was given a construction management problem. Her team got a collocation data center problem and had to revise blue prints and figure out scenarios to get the data center estimated and built.

Her team got the problem at 6:00 am and had to turn in its proposal by 11:00pm of the same day. The next morning, they then had to present their solutions to the judges. Despite heavy competition from teams at other engineering schools, such as Perdue, Oregon State, Brigham Young and Cal Poly, Cynthia’s team won!! In large part due to her leadership.

Ingrid – Finishing her Freshman year
While the Freshman year is usually the most challenging and threatening for new college students, we certainly couldn’t tell that from our conversations with Ingrid.

Ingrid is majoring in mechanical engineering, one of the toughest majors on the ASU campus. When we asked her how she is doing, here was her response:

“Oh, pretty well. I got all A’s this year so far, and I think I’ll have enough credits to graduate in three years.” Ahhhh, gee. How does one respond to that? So casual, so at ease. Does it get any better than this? Yes. When she graduates the circle will be completed.

Ahhhh, gee. How does one respond to that? So casual, so at ease. Does it get any better than this? Yes. When she graduates the circle will be completed.

Are Brooke, Cynthia and Ingrid special?

You bet they are!! Are they unique?

Not among our Scholars, they are not. They are good representatives of the quality, commitment and dedication of our Scholars.

These students are the face of tomorrow’s America, and your help with the funding of their educations will make all the difference in the future of our country. Obviously for the better.

Please help them.

Best regards,
Peter Gaskins
President