Every year, two Stevenson students within the Beverly K. Fine School of the Sciences and the Howard S. Brown School of Business and Leadership are awarded the Geraldine and Sam Dell Scholarship.
This past Tuesday, faculty, special guests, and students came together to celebrate this year’s recipients, Isabela Magpantay and Arianna Piluk, and to learn about current trends within the healthcare industry during The Dell Lecture.
Philanthropist and trustee Mr. Samuel M. Dell III, shared more on the purpose of the scholarship.
“We loved Stevenson, and we were looking for ways we thought we could contribute and leverage some things and came up with this,” Dell said. “It’s wonderful to see it in people’s faces and to see last year’s scholars come back.”
To begin The Dell Lecture, CEO of MedChi Gene Ransom, gave an overlook of the healthcare industry including medical loan debt, workforce shortages, concentrations in healthcare, rising costs in healthcare, worker burnout, and respect of the profession.
Ransom was asked to give the lecture by Dean Sharon Buchbinder, and he shared about his experience with giving the keynote address.
“It clearly is a big deal when any student gets help that allows them to complete their education,” Ransom said. “I got to talk to one of the recipients last year and you see how it has affected them.”
When asked about the impact of the scholarship 2023 recipient JT Tyson said, “It’s been a blessing, not just for me, but for my family.”
Last year’s second Dell scholar Zak Rutsch had a similar sentiment.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity, Rutsch said. “It is only presented to two people a year, and it pays for the entirety of my senior year.”
The newest recipients gave their thanks and addresses during the event. Junior fashion merchandising major Isabela Magpantay joked about how she was her parents’ new favorite child.
Each recipient had similar reactions to learning about being awarded the scholarship.
“I was a bit shocked because I was in bed, I woke up to an Outlook email notification and it said, ‘Congratulations you are the recipient of the Dell scholarship’,” Magpantay said. “I kept it a secret from my family for a while because I wanted to have everyone there and then I told them when we were having dinner.”
Junior biochemistry major Arianna Piluk said, “I ran upstairs, and I screamed and jumped up and down, and I was shocked too.”
Dell stressed that he isn’t sure enough people know about the scholarship fund.
“Several years ago, we had a luncheon for the past scholars and my family,” Dell said. “Because I wanted my children and grandchildren, and late grandsons [there] because I said, ‘I’m spending your money, your inheritance, on this, you are going to see what the results are’.”
Both schools select recipients in different ways, but one must be nominated by professors in their respective departments to even be considered during their junior year. Dean Sharon Buchbinder said the process is extensive due to the high honor of the scholarship.
Dell said, “The application starts their freshman, sophomore and junior year, and many times they don’t even know it.”
