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April 2019 - Scholarship Presentation and Benefit Dinner Dance
2014 Scholarship Recipient Comments
Good evening.
It is an honor to be here tonight.
It is surreal for me to think that five years ago I stood here to accept this prestigious award. It was truly a blessing to become the 2014 recipient of the Kevin M. Eidt Memorial Scholarship and to be recognized with an award that embodies Kevin’s loving spirit and legacy. I cannot thank you all enough, for believing in me and providing me with the financial and motivational support to live my life according to Kevin’s values.
In May 2018, I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Environmental Engineering. As an “Honors Scholar,” I was the only student in my major to graduate from the Honors Program. Taking a vast array of classes across all disciplines within my major, the Engineering Department and the Honors Program fed my hunger for learning and pushed me to reach new academic heights. My senior design project challenged me, as I designed a replacement railroad bridge for H.W. Lochner and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Conducting research during my junior and senior years, I completed an Honors Thesis on the design and development of Storrs Center. My civil engineering analysis of the mixed-use development ultimately ignited my passion for transportation planning and led me to pursue this academic interest halfway across the world.
A month prior to the start of my senior year, I spent three weeks abroad in Amsterdam, Netherlands, studying the interrelationship between sustainability and transportation planning. Throughout the course, I conducted field-based research on the bicycle network in Amsterdam, facilitated professional interviews, and documented my findings in a short film, which appeared in the 2018 Connecticut Urban and Transportation Film Festival. After three weeks of cycling and enriching myself in Dutch culture, I can now say that I have a newfound appreciation for Amsterdam. My time in the city showed me firsthand how transportation planning can be utilized as an effective tool to build sustainable urban communities. Because of this unforgettable experience, I have a new way of examining the infrastructure around us, which I have carried forward in my career as a civil engineer.
Outside of the classroom, I made a big school feel small by immersing myself in extracurricular activities. I was a three-year member of the Men’s Ultimate Frisbee team, competing in tournaments across the country to help the team qualify for Nationals three years in a row and for the first time in program history. During my junior year, I spent a week in Birmingham, Alabama, serving the local community while exploring the roots of civil rights and urban poverty. As the Program Director and Student Coordinator for Community Service Days, a club that offers one-time service events with the mission of providing students an entry point into service, I worked with several organizations in the Storrs community while helping students understand the importance of reciprocity and active citizenship.
I am incredibly fortunate for the education and the college experience I received. As the first person in my family to go to college, my four years at UConn enabled me to pursue my academic interests, serve communities from Storrs to Birmingham, make lifelong friendships and memories, and start a career in civil engineering. Because of the Kevin M. Eidt Memorial Scholarship, I was also able to graduate from UConn debt-free. I recognize the life-changing nature of this opportunity and simply cannot find the words to express my gratitude.
Graduating debt free enabled me to accept a full-time position with BL Companies, a multi-disciplinary engineering firm, in Hartford, CT. As a staff engineer in the Transportation group, operating under the State’s Consultant Liaison Engineering Bridge Program, I work closely with engineers from the Connecticut Department of Transportation to design and rehabilitate the State’s infrastructure. Connecticut received an infrastructure grade of a C- in 2018. I’ve never received a C- in my life, so something has to change around here.
After being with BL Companies for almost a year now, I can proudly say that I love what I am doing. This amazing opportunity to start my career wouldn’t have been possible without this scholarship and all of you.
To the benefactors of Kevin’s Fund, thank you for your generous support. Your unselfish contributions have not only enabled myself, but each recipient of this scholarship, to go on to college and follow their dreams. To the selection committee, thank you placing your confidence in me and allowing me to carry Kevin’s legacy forward. To the Eidt Family, thank you for sharing Kevin’s memory. Your devotion to honoring Kevin’s legacy has inspired the Norwalk community and beyond to follow in his footsteps. To my own family, thank you for raising me to become the person I am today, for always loving me, and for supporting me in all my endeavors.
While I never had the privilege of meeting Kevin, I would like to especially thank him for inspiring me to live my life with purpose, to cherish every moment, and to leave a meaningful impact on my community.
Every year I look forward to this special night in April, to hear the stories of past recipients, to welcome a new member into the family, and to celebrate the loving spirit and legacy of Kevin M. Eidt. As each winner of this scholarship goes on to leave his or her mark, Kevin’s Legacy lives on.
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% |