SMC graphic arts student wins second Wilkinson scholarship
Published 10:05 am Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sarah Mathews, foundation president; Teresa Lee, scholarship recipient; Monica Clupper, foundation co-vice president; and Evelyn Calogero, foundation co-vice president.
On Monday, Dec. 28, The Inspiration Scholarship Foundation awarded its second annual Mary J. Wilkinson Scholarship to Teresa Lee of Niles.
The Mary J. Wilkinson Scholarship is awarded each year to a single parent attending Southwestern Michigan College who demonstrates financial need.
While the foundation received numerous applications this year for the scholarship, Lee’s application stood out and expressed what the foundation’s board of directors felt was the true spirit of the scholarship and of the foundation – daring to inspire others to pursue education no matter the circumstances.
Lee’s application detailed how she decided to pursue an associates degree in graphic arts at SMC while she was living in a shelter three years ago.
Despite facing the tough circumstance of raising her two sons, Drake Linton, 8, and Nash Linton, 10, on her own, Lee did not falter from her goal of pursuing a degree.
Now in her second year at SMC and only one semester away from graduating with her associates degree, Lee uses her educational experiences to inspire her two sons to keep working at their education even when things seem tough.
She also makes a point to share with her two sons the things she learns in her classes to show them that classes can be fun.
Lee was presented with the $1,000 scholarship and a pen engraved with the Foundation’s motto, “Dare to Inspire,” by the foundation’s board of directors at the Fred L. Mathews Library on SMC’s Dowagiac campus.
Earlier this year, the foundation hosted the dessert theater, “For Better Or For Worse,” in the library’s conference center to raise money to support the scholarship.
The dessert theater was written and directed by SMC President Dr. David Mathews and his wife, foundation President Sarah Mathews, and was performed entirely by volunteers, including members of the SMC Select Choir.
The dessert theater was performed before a packed audience and raised more than $1,000 to support the Mary J. Wilkinson Scholarship Fund and The Inspiration Scholarship Foundation.
For more information on The Inspiration Scholarship Foundation visit the Web site at www.daretoinspire.org.
