Hank Schmelzer (far right) joins students from the Onward Program who recently received financial support from a scholarship fund that honors the former president of the Maine Community Foundation. The students are (left to right): John Goater, Nawal Dekkaki, Christine Boobar, and Dianne Herring.
Paying for college just became a bit easier for four students in the University of Maine Onward Program, thanks to a scholarship from the Maine Community Foundation. Christine Boobar of LaGrange, John Goater of Old Town, Nawal Dekkaki of Bass Harbor, and Dianne Herring of Bangor are recipients of the first Henry L.P. Schmelzer College Transitions Fund Scholarship presented at the Onward Program Graduate Recognition Reception on May 2.
Throughout his tenure as President of the Maine Community Foundation, Hank Schmelzer was an advocate for higher education in Maine and helped to launch the Maine Compact for Higher Education in 2003. At his retirement in December 2008, generous donors recognized his leadership by establishing the Schmelzer College Transitions Scholarship Fund to support the post-secondary aspirations of Maine adults returning to school.
“The generosity of Mr. Schmelzer and the Maine Community Foundation will have enormous impact on our students,” noted Alan Parks, director of the Onward Program, “especially at a time of shrinking financial aid and rising college costs.” He welcomed the support for older students who often have families, mortgages and other financial commitments. “They're highly motivated students,” Parks said, “and they need all the help they can get.”
“MaineCF chose to partner with the University of Maine Onward Program because of its demonstrated success in helping Maine adults enter and complete college,” said Jean Warren, scholarship funds manager at the foundation. MaineCF manages more than 400 scholarship funds.
May 22, 2009