Below is a testimonial from one of our generous donors, a person who prefers to remain anonymous but is deeply committed to supporting female scientists. 

"Why did I start a fund for women in what is now called the STEM field?

I had always felt that women in science needed more encouragement, and we [the donor and their UVM Foundation contact] came up with the idea that we could make an impact by providing targeted support in the summertime. So I started a fund to cover summer expenses to make it possible for female students to travel to conferences, present their work, and keep learning and growing.

I didn't go into the sciences, even though it was a passion of mine. I was really good in chemistry, but I never was encouraged. When I learned about what a scholarship could accomplish, I thought it would be nice if someone could help others out, provide that encouragement in a meaningful way. 

Honestly, if I knew then what I know now, I would have gone into science.

That's not something I can change, but I can do this and that makes me glad. 

To people who are thinking about donating but haven't done so yet, I say, 'Look around and think about what's important going forward, for your children, and even their children. There's probably a whole segment of the population that isn't being encouraged by someone else. For instance, just look at the environment. If we get more people knowing what's going on the world will be in a much better place.'

I don't feel that it's important for my name to be all over it. I get enough out of it without having my name out there.

I just feel that we can do things for the right reason. I'm choosy about who I give to, and the university students are very important to me. I have received letters from them, and of course they're all very appreciative. But I'm the one who is amazed at what they're doing, the publishing, the research.

What feels best is the knowledge that I'm making someone's life a little better. They can just concentrate on what's next in their lives. That's a great feeling.

I want to help people. That's it. This is the way I can do it and I'm just happy that I can."

Supporting Students at the University of Vermont

There are so many ways to be part of all that's happening at UVM. Learn more about supporting student scholarships by going here. Or reach out to Kevin Morgenstein Fuerst at kmorgens@uvm.edu