Moraine Valley Foundation Announces New Scholarships

PALOS HILLS, IL — The Moraine Valley Foundation announced nearly 25 new scholarships were created during the past year. Various individuals and organizations donated to the foundation to start the scholarships, which provided thousands of additional funds for the distributed to students as they pursue their education.

“People start scholarships for a variety of reasons,” said Patti Friend Mehallick, Moraine Valley Foundation’s director of alumni and programs. “They may want to remember a loved one, support a specific type of student, or area of study, or they simply want to help students who are struggling to pay their tuition.”

After serving as the advisor for Moraine Valley’s Asian Diversity Club for nearly a decade, Tamima Farooqui, employment equity manager at the college, saw a need for a scholarship to help Asian-American students.

“There weren’t many resources for this group,” she said.

Farooqui started the Umeed Scholarship for the Advancement of Asian-American Students to give financial assistance to students from an Asian-American heritage who had faced a hardship in their life. She included the word "umeed," which means hope in the Urdu and Hindi languages, because she wanted the scholarship name to be inspirational.

“There’s an understanding of what that word means to many people. Hope is very important – it’s a symbol, something we strive for,” Farooqui said.

Jodi Marneris, an alumna and retiree of the college, started several scholarships over the years with her husband, Rick, to help relieve the financial burden many students face.

“There is such a huge need,” she said. “We wanted the scholarship recipients to be able to finish school without having to worry about money. We wanted them to concentrate on their homework instead of having to focus on how they’d pay for their next class.”

The new scholarships and their donors include:

• Eileen Stahulak Memorial Scholarship created by the American Association of University Women Palos/Orland Area Branch
• Ann Koranda Memorial Scholarship for Fine Arts and Humanities from Moraine Valley colleagues, family and friends;
• Bedford Grow Lou Dineff Memorial Scholarships (five scholarships) by Bedford Grow LLC;
• Family Dental Care Scholarships (three scholarships) from the Family Dental Care;
• Jeff Williams Tutor’s Scholarship from Darlene Williams, Williams family and friends;
• Jesús De Anda Memorial Scholarships (three scholarships), from the De Anda family;
• Jodi Marneris Communications Scholarship by Jodi Marneris;
• John Michael Grotto Memorial Scholarship courtesy of the Grotto family;
• Maribis Lou Dineff Memorial Scholarships (five scholarships) from Maribis LLC;
• Palos Heights Beautification Committee Automotive Technology Scholarship per the Palos Heights Beautification Committee;
• Terri Pacelli Fine Arts and Humanities Scholarship from her Moraine Valley colleagues, family and friends;
• Umeed Scholarship for the Advancement of Asian-American Students from Tamima Farooqui.

Marneris and Farooqui hope others will consider supporting the foundation.

“Whether you want to form your own scholarship or give to ones that already exist, you can make a profound difference,” Farooqui said.

“I wholeheartedly encourage people to give whatever they can," Marneris added. "It doesn’t have to be a huge amount. It feels great to give, and when you realize these students are going on and doing good things, you get more back than you can imagine.”

For information on starting a Moraine Valley Foundation scholarship, contact Friend Mehallick at (708) 974-5551 or friendp5@morainevalley.edu.

The Moraine Valley Foundation was founded in 1982 to provide scholarships and emergency assistance to Moraine Valley Community College students, fund innovative programs at the college and offer financial support to its Fine and Performing Arts Center. As a 501(c)3 entity, the Foundation partners with corporate and individual donors and has awarded over $1 million to support the college’s mission. This year, over $215,000 in scholarship funds were awarded to students pursuing a better life through higher education. Please help make our students’ dreams possible through a donation to the Foundation at morainevalley.edu/donate.

This press release was produced by Moraine Valley Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.