138 Scholarship Awards Celebrated for 2015

The scholarship program at PVCC is both robust and generous, and the call for more students to take advantage of it rings loud.

There were 156 guests at PVCC’s main building Friday, Nov. 13. The crowd, comprised of scholarship recipients and local philanthropists, came together for an early Thanksgiving.  They gathered to meet each other, converse and better understand the relationship between education and philanthropy. They also came together to honor the scholars and donors that work to weave a strong future for our community.

There is a deficit to be addressed, and that deficit is in student participation. Felicia Davis is one recipient of the awards celebrated that night. With only two hundred students having completed the application process, competition was slim, she says. “Out of that, this year, we had around 138 recipients.” Her advice for the timid among potential applicants is simple. “Apply anyway. If you have the chance, why not?”

Another scholar, Annette Cashatt, received three awards. This was her second application, and she encourages everyone to keep up applications throughout their college career. “You never gain anything by doing nothing,” she said.

Scholarships are granted to students with a variety of backgrounds. Homeschoolers, those with strong academic performance, minorities, low income and people in certain programs of study are all examples. The donors, too, are diverse. The local Chamber of Commerce, businesses both international and local, individuals and families were all represented.

Student ambassador Kathryn Morris earned awards through the Bast family scholarship for her high GPA. Any resident of the Charlottesville-Albemarle area is eligible to apply.

Some scholars gave speeches at the event; many spoke of improving as individuals, families. and communities. Some were new to public speaking  but still spoke with aplomb at the podium. Cashatt refers to her performance as “calm on the outside, but like a little volcano inside.”

Others spoke of the benefits the whole community gains by investing in our neighbors’ education. Among them was president of the PVCC Educational Foundation and genealogist Robert Capon. By show of hands, Capon celebrated the diversity of attendees, including veterans, immigrants and other disadvantaged groups. Capon used his own family’s history to illustrate the path from an illiterate ancestry to his position at PVCC.

La Cucina Classica provided catering.