Perspectives on Scholarships & Generosity

Perspectives on Generosity

Thad and Jenny Box

Perspectives on Scholarships

Michelle Hixson interviewed the donors of the Box Family Opportunity Award scholarship, Thad and Jenny Box, on their motivation for creating this scholarship and their advice on making a difference through generosity.

through Thad’s military service, and its accompanying spouse benefit.

Test scores and academic grades determine a majority of which students receive scholarships, but “We think that one of the main needs is to get quality people in connection with the University, but they don’t always have a good GPA,” Thad continued.

Although one scholarship will not usually fund a person’s whole education, the real purpose of awarding those funds sends the message, “We think you can do it, so go do it!” said Thad.

Jenny Box shared that she keeps all the thank you cards she receives from the scholarship recipients in a box at home. Thad and Jenny make sure to attend the CWG Scholarship Dinner each fall to meet the scholarship winners. Jenny says it is lovely to meet the student who “have the chance to do something with their life.” The students always say thank you, and we say, “Now you find someone to help!”

Thad and Jenny’s advice on how to give back? “People always need money. There is always a place to go to find someone to help.” The Box Family Opportunity Award Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate or graduate students with a preference to those who are (or who have been) in an abusive environment, who have a desire to break the cycle of violence, or who have been volunteers at CAPSA (or a similar organization).

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“We went to school using other people’s money,” Thad Box explained, and it was important to provide this funding to others.

Both Thad and Jenny Box completed their university degrees using the financial benefits received through the G.I. Bill

More details about all of the Center for Women and Gender scholarships can be found on the CWG website - http://cwg.usu.edu/ financial-aid

A LETTER FROM SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT JOAN MILLER

The Center for Women and Gender awarded me the Vera Carter Lewis Scholarship for the 2017-2018 school year, and it made such a difference. I am in the first year of a brand new program, the Master of Public Health, with a Health Education Promotion track. After obtaining my Master of Social Work degree, I decided that I wanted to work more with those who have needs due to being marginalized or at-risk. The Vera Carter Lewis Scholarship allowed me to pursue that dream. I work for USU Moab part-time, and realized that finances were going to be really tight for the school year. And when I received the email telling me that I had been awarded the scholarship, I was overjoyed – what a blessing! The scholarship covered the purchase of my textbooks, along with paying for part of my tuition. Graduate classes get pretty expensive and I am eternally grateful for the scholarship money. I am always looking for ways to pay back my community, and telling all of the Perspectives Magazine readers what a wonderful boon the Vera Carter Lewis Scholarship was to me, is one of the best ways to say thanks.

Joan E Miller USU Moab

LaVonne Tarbox-Crone (b. 1939) Conversation Istanbul Laser Reproduction of Original Watercolor Gift by Gay Wayman to Center for Women and Gender 2017

Perspectives on Generosity

Have you ever experienced inspiration that changed you? Perhaps it was a book, an event, or art? Something that made such an impact it made you change the direction of your life?

For Gay Wayman, one of those inspiring moments came when she was a graduate student of Dr. Alison Thorne, economist, feminist, and activist. Dr. Thorne’s class, International Women and Economics, exposed Wayman to female-focused microeconomics within the developing world. She found it exhilarating that small funds could help women in significant ways. “We don’t have an economy if we don’t have women,” said Wayman. The class introduced Wayman to microeconomics in the developing world, where a small sum of money, invested properly,

could raise an entire family. The concept excited a keen interest and passion in womens issues and social justice from that point forward.

While Wayman’s thirst for knowledge drove her academic achievements, earning a bachelor’s in 1982 and a master’s in 1983, she has also found precious insights through art. Art subjects, whose lives are different from her own, attract Wayman’s interest. She believes giving a voice to women from “harsh cultures where women aren’t celebrated” encourages us to help and be aware of each other.

Art, especially when it focuses on women in developing worlds, inspires Wayman, and she actively searches for such pieces. When she found the beautiful piece “Conversation in Istanbul,” she thought there was no better place to display the work than in the Center for Women and Gender where it serves as an inspiration every day. Thank you, Gay!

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