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President's Letter |
 Ferris students Raymond Angus, Jacob Dunham and Jason Easlick have high grade point averages, but come from families who couldn’t fund their higher education costs. As high school students, they nonetheless decided to find a way to go to college. They are just three of the many students who make use of need-based scholarships to earn their degrees. After spending his savings in pursuit of his associate degree in Welding Engineering Technology, Angus needed and received a scholarship to go on for his bachelor’s. “The scholarship helped pay quite a bit of my tuition,” Raymond says. “I’ll still owe $11,000 in loans when I graduate, but I knew I had to get an education to get someplace in life.” Thanks to his perseverance (and the scholarship), Angus has a professional position as a welding engineer at John Deere. Every summer throughout high school, Dunham saved all the money he made for college. It wasn’t enough. “I was sure if I worked hard enough, I’d find a scholarship to help me finish,” he says. His optimism paid off. “My scholarship has allowed me to concentrate on my Surveying studies, instead of always having to work. College isn’t easy, so students like me really appreciate scholarships.” Because of being able to concentrate on his studies, Dunham is headed to graduate school, and because of the high grades he was able to maintain at Ferris, Dunham’s next degree is already paid for. Easlick maintaines a 3.82 grade point average at Ferris and was in the Honors Program, while paying for his college costs with “quite a few jobs” and loans. His scholarship helped him to maintain that high GPA. With a year to go in Product Design Engineering Technology, he’s focused on studying. “Scholarships are extremely helpful,” he says. “I knew I really needed a college degree to make it in life and to eventually support a family.” When Woodbridge Ferris founded his school more than 120 years ago, Angus, Dunham and Easlick were exactly the kinds of students he envisioned benefiting from a career-oriented education. And yet, only $392,000 of the $8.1 million scholarship dollars awarded during 200405 at Ferris were need-based. For alumni or others interested in correcting this imbalance, establishing an endowed, need-based scholarship is a smart investment. The minimum gift required to establish an endowed scholarship at Ferris is $25,000, which can be from an individual or a group. This amount provides sufficient earnings to award a $1,250 scholarship annually and allow a portion of the earnings to be added to the principal to counter inflation and ensure an annual income. A need-based endowed scholarship may be named by the donor. It may be designated for a student or students in a particular school, major or program of the donor’s choice. The student or students will be given information about the donor and those for whom the scholarship is named. Donors are recognized in the Ferris Foundation’s annual report and at special events. “I can’t count the number of times I have been told, ‘Given our family resources, I wouldn’t have been able to attend Ferris without the help of scholarships and financial aid,’” says President David L. Eisler. “The reality is, endowed scholarships in support of need-based financial aid are absolutely critical if Ferris is to continue to fulfill its mission.” If you can help another student go to Ferris, contact the Ferris Foundation at (231) 591-2365 or fsufdn@ferris.edu. You can obtain details about establishing scholarships or endowments by calling the Advancement office at (231) 591-3815. |
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