Harriot College thanks donors for nearly 200 student scholarships

East Carolina University’s Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences celebrated the dedicated tenacity of nearly 200 student scholarship recipients and thanked the impactful donors who provide financial support. The festivity took place at the college’s 11th annual scholarship lunch on Sept. 18 in the Main Campus Student Center and featured the theme, “Inspiring the Next Chapter of Opportunity.”

Harriot College faculty, staff, donors and students attended the annual scholarship lunch on Sept. 17 in ECU’s student center ballroom. (Photos by Rob Taylor Photography and Design)

This year, more than $375,000 in donor funds support scholarships averaging $1,990 per award. The total also includes 41 study abroad scholarships, which is one of Harriot College’s long-standing priorities for students’ overall educational experiences.

Dr. Reide Corbett, Harriot College interim dean, welcomed donors and students and provided a few opening remarks.

“Our theme today is quite fitting,” Corbett said. “Because of you [donors], more than $375,000 in page-turning support will inspire the next chapter of opportunity for our best and brightest students. Your investment in their story matters a great deal.”

During the event, a few featured scholarship recipients gave formal remarks, shared their stories and expressed appreciation for donor support. Student speakers included Greta Bublitz, an undergraduate chemistry, and foreign languages and literatures major; Hannah Lewis, an undergraduate biology and psychology major; and Michael Anthony Ross, a history graduate student.

“Harriot College has an unparalleled ability to support students like me, whose interests cross disciplines, departments and require vastly different ways of thinking,” said Bublitz, who is a recipient of the Dr. Chia-yu Li Scholarship.

“I would like to say to my donors — and everyone who has chosen to provide financial support to students within Harriot College — how immensely grateful I am for your generosity,” she said. “When you invest in a student’s education, you invest in more than a degree. You give students the freedom to explore their interests, pursue unconventional opportunities and discover where their education can take them.”

Lewis, a recipient of the Brandon M. Rasberry Memorial Scholarship, said receiving a memorial scholarship — which allows a person’s legacy to continue through the lives and work of students they will never have the chance to meet — is both a gift and a responsibility that she plans to honor by using her education to serve others.

Michael Anthony Ross, one of the student speakers at the scholarship lunch, said his fellowship provides more than financial support.

“Knowing what you want to accomplish and knowing how you are going to afford the journey are two very different things,” Lewis said. “Scholarship support helped bridge that gap for me. Instead of allowing financial uncertainty to define my college experience, I have been able to focus more fully on learning, serving and preparing for a career in medicine.”

As a recipient of the Evelyn and Joseph Boyette Fellowship in History, Ross said that the fellowship has given him something greater than financial support.

“When I entered Special Collections to learn about Joseph and Evelyn Boyette, I found what I came to think of as an inheritance of values,” Ross said. “Joseph Boyette wrote because he wanted those who came after him to know his family and the times in which they lived. Evelyn Boyette earned her own master’s degree at East Carolina University and devoted herself to education, history, libraries and the life of her community here in Greenville.

“Their example taught me that an inheritance is not merely something we receive. It is something we are trusted to carry on and carry well. For me, carrying it means preserving voices from the past and asking difficult questions. Our disciplines may differ, but the calling is much the same — to ask honest questions, to follow truth wherever it may lead and to leave behind more understanding than we found.”

“Harriot College’s story is an epic tale, featuring a wild and diverse cast of characters, unlikely friendships across disciplines and fields, and opposites that attract — like arts and sciences. It’s one of my favorite kinds of stories, too,” concluded Ashley Harzog, director of alumni relations and outreach for Harriot College. “Our story wouldn’t be the same without each of our donors and their investment in our students.”

To view photos from the lunch, visit the gallery from Rob Taylor Photography and Design.

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