2018 Scholarship Luncheon Celebrates the Lasting Impact of Giving

Speaking to more than 200 students, donors, alumni and friends at the Bloomsburg University Foundation 2018 Scholarship Luncheon on Sunday, April 15, BU President Bashar W. Hanna delivered a powerful message. “My advice for the students here today is take the opportunity to thank your donor and reflect on how they have helped to make your education possible, but also to always remember the generosity they have shown.”

Donors who attend the luncheon each year to meet with their scholarship recipients and learn more about their academic achievements along with their personal and professional aspirations. The day also provides an opportunity for donors to connect with the students on a deeper level, in hopes that they may be inspired to someday also give back to BU.

Speakers at the luncheon—an annual tradition since 2009—reflected on the difference that scholarships make for the Bloomsburg University community. The BU Foundation expects to award $1.5 million in undergraduate financial aid and scholarships through support from donors in 2017–18. More importantly, those scholarships will impact the lives of more than 800 BU students this academic year. 

Scholarship donor Julie Breiner ’77 was the luncheon’s benefactor speaker. Julie and her husband, Ed Breiner ’77, support four students each year pursuing business and science majors. She echoed the sentiment of hoping to create a lasting impact through her support when discussing the relationships she has built with “her kids” as she affectionately called them. “Our investment in these students’ lives was not only a financial one,” said Breiner. “They responded to the fact that we really believed in them and cared about them.”

To help demonstrate the impact of donor support from a student perspective, Rain Escovedo ’18, recipient of the Professor Brian and Marty Johnson Geography and Planning Scholarship, shared what receiving this gift has meant to her. “I have been selected by my faculty twice for this scholarship and it has and will continue to help me achieve my dreams,” she said.

As a result of her scholarship, Escovedo has secured an internship for the summer that she needed meet her requirements for graduation. Escovedo will spend the summer working with Dr. John Hintz and Dr. Sandra Kehoe Forutan on the planning and management of projects involving the BU Outdoor Classroom garden and new developments on campus. “I am so excited to have the opportunity to give back to this University and the community as a whole before I depart for the next adventure. Something that may not have been possible without your generosity,” she added.

To learn more about giving to scholarships at BU, contact Angela Crossley at 570-389-4994 or acrossle@bloomufdn.org.