A mother with a full-time career, Jackie Boes manages to complete a full load of classes and maintain her position on the honor roll each semester at Rogers State University.
“My personal goal is to earn a bachelor’s degree by my 40th birthday,” said Boes, who at 38 works as a realtor with Keller Williams Realty in Owasso.
Juggling the responsibilities of caring for her four teenage children, meeting the demands of a professional career and making progress toward her college degree, Boes needs all the support she can get. That’s why receiving an endowed scholarship was so important and meaningful to her.
“I was proud of qualifying for an endowed scholarship,” Boes said. “And I was grateful that there was someone out there who felt it was important to provide scholarships to help students like me.”
Boes, who is a junior pursuing her bachelor’s degree in business administration, is the recipient of the Carl G. and Gladys L. Herrington Endowed Scholarship at RSU.
This fall, 76 students will receive 103 scholarships from the Endowed Scholarship Program, which is coordinated by the RSU Foundation. Recipients of these scholarships and those who make them possible will be recognized at the Annual Endowed Scholars Banquet on Sept. 23.
“The endowed scholars banquet has become an annual tradition at RSU,” said Dr. Danette Boyle, RSU vice president for development. “It is a special evening when students, their parents and those who so generously provide the scholarships come together, many of whom will meet each other for the first time.”
For the last 10 years, Dave Story of Claremore and the Claremore Daily Progress have sponsored the annual event, which includes a dinner and awards ceremony at Post Hall.
“We are very grateful for the longtime support of our endowed scholarship program by Mr. Story and the Claremore Daily Progress,” Boyle said.
In addition to endowed scholarships, students receiving the Robert Aldridge Scholarship in Business Information Technology and ConocoPhillips Opportunity Scholarship will be recognized at the banquet. The Aldridge scholarship is for junior and senior-level students majoring in business information technology at the RSU School of Business and Technology. The ConocoPhillips scholarship is for students from the Bartlesville area working toward their associate’s or bachelor’s degree at RSU.
The RSU scholarship endowment presently contains more than $2.6 million. Earnings from the principal of the endowment are utilized to fund scholarships each semester. A minimum of $10,000 is required to establish a scholarship endowment, which can take the form of a one-time gift or can be paid over several years. The endowment can be named for a loved one or remain anonymous. Scholarships can be awarded to a certain type of student or major area of study on the basis of academic achievement, financial need or both, according to the donor’s wishes. Once created, the principal amount of the endowment will remain permanently intact. A portion of the earnings on the endowment will be will be used to award scholarships and another portion is re-invested to increase the principal amount, ensuring that the endowment will grow over time.
In addition to fully funded endowed scholarships, donors can provide scholarships for students through developing endowments before they reach the minimum balance of $10,000, Boyle said.
“Going back to college has been a lot of work but receiving an endowed scholarship has really been a motivating experience for me,” Boes said.
Students who are interested in applying for an endowed scholarship should contact the RSU Office of Enrollment Management at (918) 343-7545.
For more information on how to establish a scholarship endowment, contact the RSU Foundation at (918) 343-7773.