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APRIL 6, 2013 - Scholarship Presentation and Benefit Dinner Dance
2008 Scholarship Recipient Comments
I’d like to begin this evening by sharing a little of my background so you can better understand my gratitude, dedication, and drive. I am one of five children in a single-parent household. My father passed away when I was in elementary school, and in high school, my mom welcomed my two cousins to move-in with us when their parents passed. College for me meant student loans and full-time jobs.
The Kevin M. Eidt Memorial Scholarship changed that. When I first applied five years ago, I made a promise in my application “to pursue my goals based on the morals and values in which I believe Kevin and I share so that I may add meaning to someone’s life, even if just one person.” Tonight, I would like to reflect upon the responsibility with which this scholarship charged me and to express how my loyalty to Kevin’s Fund became the engine that empowered me. Kevin fueled my strength and embedded in me a tenacity that enabled me to rise above the ordinary and to achieve extraordinary milestones.
Upon entering Georgetown, I had been struggling with a serious knee injury that would take my entire college career to heal. I set a goal to jog along the monuments on the National Mall by my senior year; however, my single year of physical therapy soon morphed into three, until running seemed a far-fetched dream. Though formal athletics were stifled by my slow recovery, I quickly learned that nothing happens without purpose. I channeled my athletic spirit as a teaching assistant for Yoga Activist, a DC-based organization serving at-risk communities. The time I would have otherwise spent on an athletic team was instead spent as a dedicated DC Central Kitchen Street Outreach volunteer, an Alternative Spring Break community service participant, and a liaison for Georgetown-China political and religious relations.
I made a pledge to pursue goals based on the morals and values that I believed Kevin and I would have shared. Perhaps it is just coincidence that Kevin’s Boston College and my Georgetown University are both committed to the Jesuit philosophy of educating the whole person, infusing students with the ideals of “contemplation in action, care of the whole person, faith and justice, interreligious understanding, and community in diversity.” Perhaps it is not coincidence at all. At a time in our lives as college students when we seemingly wander without direction, Kevin’s example continued to fuel my engine and to guide me through my most formative years of development. This scholarship community believed in me and trusted me to carry on Kevin’s work here on earth. My dreams and accomplishments were possible because I was granted this scholarship, which enabled me to go to Georgetown and in turn led to the numerous opportunities for growth and advancement.
When I found myself feeling as if other students had more “worldly” experience or an intimidating list of accomplishments, Kevin’s Fund reminded me that I, too, had accomplishments of which I was proud. Achieving such an honor as the Eidt Scholarship gave me the confidence to take risks: I swing-jumped off a bridge while completing my Spanish proficiency in Ecuador; I lived with a host family in China, which even after years of studying Mandarin was still a scary experience and a stark culture-shock; I pursued my passion for photography even when I didn’t think my photos were the best; I stood in front of crowds at Model UN conferences, interviewed over 80 alumni as a university student ambassador, and chaired a student-run Catering business. I am not ashamed to admit I shed a lot of tears and suffered from waves of frustration when things didn’t go quite as planned, but it is through these frustrations that we learn life’s most valuable lessons. We push through hard times and succeed when we have support, and I had a supportive community in Kevin’s Fund.
The values I have learned and the accomplishments I have achieved are long-lasting because of their roots in Kevin’s Fund. I hope that I have touched the hearts and minds of the people I have met just as they touched mine. It is through this connection that we as individuals can inspire others, so that our work is not finished when we receive our diplomas or finish a chapter in our lives, but rather, that the values institutions like Georgetown and scholarships like the Eidt inspire are those that prepare us for the future.
I have strived to have the same zest for life as I have learned of Kevin, to accomplish what might have seemed impossible five years ago, and to achieve goals that might have seemed unachievable. I aimed to truly get the most out of my Georgetown experience, and in graduating Magna Cum Laude, I earned my degree knowing I could stand here and make you all proud. I now work at Deloitte in the federal consulting practice and have established a life in DC, which is to the credit of the this scholarship, the selection committee, all benefactors and friends who believed in me and in turn served as a constant source of inspiration.
The gift of higher education has equipped me for a life committed to academics, the arts, community service, athletics, and religious commitment, and has enabled me to share that commitment with my community. I am truly grateful for carrying Kevin’s torch. Ensuring that his spirit lives on through my own is a responsibility and a journey that I committed to five years ago, and to which I continue to be committed today. His spirit lives on not only in my actions and decisions, but in the actions and decisions of the individual who will be granted this scholarship tonight, the individual granted it last year, five years ago and five years from now.
As for that run on the National Mall? I completed it for the first time this past year, and I swear Kevin was cheering me on. The emotions I felt the day I ran six miles along the monuments were overwhelming, but they cannot compare to the emotions I felt when Dr. Gioiella called me five years ago and when I stood before you on April 5, 2008 to accept this scholarship. Thank you for your faith in my ability to represent Kevin and your support through my journey. I am proud to be a part of Kevin’s Fund, a part of something bigger than I could have imagined – a part of something extraordinary. It is with utmost gratitude that I thank you.
Background
The Kevin M. Eidt Memorial Scholarship Fund was established through the generosity of the many people Kevin touched in his short life. Kevin, an 18-year-old dean's list freshman in the honors program at Boston College, passed away from cardiac arrest on January 23, 1997 while playing intramural basketball. Kevin set the example of the passion and sincerity we should bring to each day. He was an individual with vision, commitment, abiding hope, aspirations, and compassion. And when we look back, it was a life, albeit a glimpse of life, by which people can be measured and judged by.
Mission
The mission of the Kevin M. Eidt Memorial Scholarship Fund is to preserve Kevin's spirit by paying tribute to achievements in academics, athletics, arts, and the virtues of service and faith that were the essence of Kevin's life.
Fund Facts
With 12 scholarships, valued at $160,500, awarded to the class of 2023, Kevin's Fund will have provided $2.7 Million in financial support to 222 exemplary young men and women matriculating at over 85 diverse colleges and universities in Kevin's memory. The dramatic growth in scholarship awards is directly related to the financial success of our annual benefit dinner dance, which began in 2000 and funded scholarships for the class of 2001. As a result of this generosity, Kevin's Fund has awarded the following scholarships.
To the class of 1997 $3,750 To the class of 1998 $5,000 To the class of 1999 $12,000 To the class of 2000 $13,000 To the class of 2001 $47,000 To the class of 2002 $55,000 To the class of 2003 $70,000 To the class of 2004 $85,000 To the class of 2005 $100,000 To the class of 2006 $111,000 To the class of 2007 $127,000 To the class of 2008 $139,000 To the class of 2009 $140,000 To the class of 2010 $118,000 To the class of 2011 $117,000 To the class of 2012 $115,000 To the class of 2013 $121,000 To the class of 2014 $122,000 To the class of 2015 $124,000 To the class of 2016 $122,250 To the class of 2017 $124,000 To the class of 2018 $127,000 To the class of 2019 $128,000 To the class of 2020 $128,000 To the class of 2021 $126,500 To the class of 2022 $156,000 To the class of 2023 $160,500
For the 2023 – 2024 academic year, Kevin’s Fund is providing financial support to 15 students matriculating at American University, Boston College (2), Champlain College, Columbia, Dartmouth, George Washington University, Liberty, Northeastern, Sacred Heart, Southern Connecticut State, UConn (2), Univeristy of Delaware, and UMass-Amherst.
| Scholarship Fund Accomplishments as of June 30, 2023 | |
| Recipients | 222 |
| Awards | $2,700,000 |
| Funding as % of Contributions | 99.5% |