Maine organization offers scholarships for college

Maine high school students and their families who are trying to patch together funding for a college education may want to contact the Maine Community Foundation, which administers dozens of privately endowed scholarship funds.

According to funds manager Jean Warren of the Maine Community Foundation, the organization manages more than 300 separate endowments that make annual awards. The average award is between $500 and $3,500, she said, but a few are much more.

Warren said that each year a number of available gifts go unclaimed because students simply don’t bother to apply.

“It’s very challenging to get students to fill out an application,” she said. “Students will often say, ‘Oh it’s only for $1,000; it’s not worth the effort.’ They don’t think about how long it would take them to set aside that much from a summer job. There’s a disconnect when it comes to the reality of funding a college education.”

For most students, even a $500 scholarship will pay for a semester’s worth of college textbooks, she noted.

Most applications require a brief personal essay, another factor that may discourage students, Warren said. But students need to learn to express themselves through the written word, she noted, especially those aiming for college and a professional career. The scholarship applications provide a good opportunity to develop that ability, she said.

Some scholarships are targeted to students from a particular high school, such as the Edith A. Kimball Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to college-bound graduates of Central Aroostook High School in Mars Hill who are “hardworking students with average grades,” according to the Maine Community Foundation Web site. Other funds benefit students from Narraguagus High School in Harrington, Hampden Academy, Houlton High School, Calais Memorial High School and many other specific schools.

Other scholarships support students with an identified interest or record of achievement, such as the Chet Jordan Leadership Award for students who are “emerging leaders in their community and school … despite hardship, adversity or disability.” There are scholarships for aspiring nurses, journalists, foresters, musicians, farmers and more.

Children of veterans of the Vietnam War, of employees of Casella Waste Systems, and of employees of Central Maine Power Co. have their own scholarship funds. Island-dwelling students also are the beneficiaries of several scholarships, as are students who plan to pursue training in vocational fields such as plumbing, culinary arts or masonry.

A number of scholarship funds are set aside for graduates of “alternative” high school programs, including the Erin Elizabeth Sperrey Memorial Scholarship Fund, named for a young Aroostook County woman who was slain by a co-worker at the Tim Hortons restaurant in Caribou in 2005. Sperrey was a graduate of the Presque Isle High School Alternative Education Center and the scholarship fund established by her family is dedicated to graduates of that program as well students who attended the program but graduated from another high school or an equivalency program.

Warren said there are many moving personal stories behind the 300 scholarship funds she administers. Most of the funds are established in memory of beloved family members or esteemed members of the community and are a source of pride and comfort to those who set them up, she said.

“It’s disappointing when you only get one or two applications and you know there are so many others who could benefit,” she said.

Warren said the high school guidance office should be the first stop for any college-bound student. But she said students and their families should also visit the Maine Community Foundation Web site, www.mainecf.org, or call the organization at 877-700-6800.