Impact

Scholarships and fellowships are enormously beneficial to OSU students, freeing their time to concentrate on their studies, participate in extracurricular educational opportunities, and then graduate with less debt. Yet gifts for scholarships also benefit our broader community. Here are two examples of scholarships created early in the campaign that already are starting to show how they are enhancing Oregon and our world.

For OREGON: Bank of the Cascades Scholarship

Established in fall 2004, the Bank of the Cascades Scholarship was one of the first scholarship funds created through The Campaign for OSU. One of its recipients is Ann Cook, now a senior at OSU-Cascades Campus. Scholarships made it possible for her to pursue a four-year degree and develop her skills, preparing herself to contribute to the Bend community and beyond.

Ann's OSU experience has taken her places beyond her wildest dreams. She recently spent five months in India as an intern. In the city of Mumbai she worked with women who have few resources but great potential. "Sometimes to tap into that potential people need a hand," Ann says. "When they get it, there's a ripple effect. We can't imagine what they're going to be able to contribute to society in return." She sees the same dynamic at play in her own life. "I look forward to the time when I can give back by being a key factor in assisting others that need a hand up."

For THE WORLD: Wicks-Street Scholarship

In December 2005 Trustee Judy Street and her husband, Jim Street, established the Wicks-Street Endowed Fund to provide chemical engineering scholarships and fellowships in the College of Engineering. While the fund will be endowed through a designation in the Streets' estate plans, they decided to start making gifts to support students right away.

One Wicks-Street Fellowship recipient, Debra Gilbuena, isn't only a master's student — she's also the chief technology officer for CSD Nano: a start-up company based on OSU research. Its work with thin-film materials holds great potential for solar energy development and other applications. "I'm passionate about solar energy and about helping us to become energy independent," Debra says. "Oil's not going to be around forever; having alternate sources of energy just makes sense" — and the sooner, the better.

While Debra qualified for need-based support, there was still a huge gap between those grants and expenses, she says. Scholarships provided tremendous stress relief and shifted the focus away from finances and back on education. They allowed her to move through school more quickly than would have been possible if she was working extra hours — and get on with her dreams of making a better world.

Oregon State University | OSU Foundation