Xavier awards Hearst Community Scholarship to 3 Norwood residents

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation created an endowed scholarship fund at Xavier University several years ago. The Foundation has repurposed the scholarship fund to support undergraduate students from the neighborhoods immediately surrounding Xavier University.

“Father Graham [Rev. Michael J. Graham, S.J., Xavier president] has insisted that we see ourselves as mutually beneficial to each other,” says Byron White, associate vice president for community engagement at Xavier. “The University benefits from the community and the community members benefit from having us in their community. We want to increase the extent to which those who grow up here get to learn here and take that knowledge back into the community we all share.”

To be eligible for the Hearst Endowed Scholarship, a student must:
· apply and be accepted to Xavier University
· complete the FAFSA form, and
· complete and return the Hearst Scholarship application

The deadline to apply for the 2010 Hearst Scholarship is February 1, 2010.

The William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship Fund provides one annual scholarship of $2,500 to an undergraduate student from three communities that surround Xavier University: Evanston, Avondale, or Norwood. Applicants must be incoming, first-year, full-time students who have been admitted to Xavier and have financial need. Because the scholarship seeks to bring underrepresented students to Xavier, applicants’ cultural heritage and whether they are of the first generation in their family to attend college will be considered among many factors in the selection process. Hearst Scholarship recipients will maintain the awards for their four years at Xavier, as long as they remain in good academic standing.

Xavier will offer one $2,500 scholarship each year, which the recipient will keep for all four years, as long as he or she remains in good academic standing. This initial year, however, one student from each class, freshman through senior, was selected.

Charele Schork is a freshman nursing student from Norwood. She attended Norwood High School in her freshman and sophomore years, and Scarlet Oaks Career Development Center her junior and senior years. She graduated from Norwood High School with her LPN. “I've always wanted to be a Muskie,” Charele says. “I heard that Xavier had an outstanding nursing program, so that led me to apply. When I got my acceptance letter and my scholarships, I didn't think twice about where I would go. Xavier is close to home, so that helped as well.” When she graduates from Xavier with her BSN, she plans to either enlist in the Army as an officer, or work in the emergency room at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Monica Bostic is a sophomore sociology major/English minor and lifelong Norwood resident. The daughter of Patricia and Richard MacVeigh, she attended Purcell Marian High School and is the first generation of her family to attend college. When she started researching colleges, at first she wanted to go far away to get some independence. “I changed my mind,” she says “when I realized how much I enjoy living in this area and how silly it would be to spend the money to travel to a school that's out of state, when there was a great school in walking distance of my house. Xavier offers a quality education.” She enjoys all her classes, and is involved in theatre. She works at the Frisch’s in Norwood and thinks no matter what job she ends up with she will be able to apply the ideas she's learned in classes like philosophy, theology, and English.

Wilson Harmon is a junior accounting major from Norwood and the son of Patty Harmon. He, too, is the first in his family to attend college. He attended Roger Bacon High School in St. Bernard. He wanted to stay near home for college to be able to help his mother. Thinking like an accountant, he also saw the money that could be saved in travel costs by staying nearby. He is active in the accounting society and in intramural football, while at the same time holding down 2 jobs. “I love the campus here and a Jesuit school just fit me,” he says. Wilson hopes to get his CPA license and obtain a high paying job using all the skills learned at Xavier.

Sigourney Harris is a senior athletic training/sport studies major from Evanston. She attended PACE High School, a virtual high school. She considered and chose Xavier because it offered the best educational opportunity in her field and was close to home. Once she graduates from Xavier with her degree in athletic training and becomes certified, she plans to work at a high school or sports medicine clinic. She hopes to return to school to obtain her massage therapist certification.

Bill Graff, a community organizer in Norwood, was present for the ceremony and said that all of Norwood is proud of these students and wishes them the best in their endeavors. “We hope you will come back to the neighborhood after you receive your degrees and help promote business and the continued growth of this community.” Anzora Adkins, president of the Evanston Community Council, added, “We would like you to explore these communities further and participate in service to the community.”

(Pictured in the photo above left to right: Monica Bostic, Bill Graff, Wilson Harmon; not pictured: Charele Schork.)