Current Giving Stories

The Bodycombs Linda Bodycomb almost fell through the cracks. When she was a student, she worked full-time as a waitress to pay for college and it took its toll.

Stephanie Franklin
"Receiving the scholarship was a great honor! I was very excited because, at the time, my need for financial assistance had largely increased after an expected scholarship from the state fell through."

Cheryl White
“Being a non-traditional student has been both a benefit and a detriment,” Cheryl White simply states.

ethan John Greely '07
Students come to St. Mary’s mainly for academic reasons, yet one in seven competes on a varsity athletic team and many more participate in club, intramural, or recreational opportunities.

Scott Thrumburg Scott Humburg
In Scott Humburg’s closet a classic black tuxedo hangs next to camouflage fatigues. Depending on the day and the task at hand, Scott dons one or the other.

Teresa Wren
Years ago my late husband and I tried to sell a piece of real estate during a down market. We had owned the property for many years and it had appreciated quite a bit. When the property didn’t sell our accountant suggested an alternative: donate it to a non-profit organization and receive a charitable tax deduction.

Black Student Union Scholarship Donors Students for Scholarship: Black Student Union (BSU)
It’s not unusual for the College’s Development Office to be approached by a donor who wants to establish a new scholarship. It is, however, unusual for us to get such a request from a student club.

Beth Luginbill '06
"As students we are encouraged to give back to the community,” said Elizabeth Luginbill, a 2006 cum laude grad. “Each of my volunteering activities gave me real-world experience and perspective that can be lacking in lives of so many young people. I learned a lot from everything I did.”

The May Russell Lodge Dedication The May Russel Lodge
"To me and my cousins, May was our own Auntie Mame, and when she rolled into town, as they said in the stage play, doors were definitely going to open for us."

Ethan Elliott
Ethan’s interest in physics expanded with a summer research opportunity at Patuxent River Naval Air Station (NAVAIR), made possible through the Weitzel Scholars Fund, which supports undergraduate summer research in the sciences.

Anya Katrinic '07 Anya Katrinic
It has been over 165 years since three County representatives rode to the House of Delegates in Annapolis to present their plans for a school that would one day become known as St. Mary’s College of Maryland. It has been a little more than a year since Anya Katrinic ’07, a student from the school, made the same journey.

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The Center for the Study of Democracy: Exploring issues in global democracy in a hands-on environment

Anya Katrini '07, at the Comptroller's Office

It has been over 165 years since three County representatives rode to the House of Delegates in Annapolis to present their plans for a school that would one day become known as St. Mary's College of Maryland.

It has only been a few years since Anya Katrinic '07 made the same journey -- as a William Donald Schaefer Scholar. The internship program, created in 2004 by former Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer, is designed to encourage students to pursue future careers in public service by granting them a hands-on, undergraduate experience in public policy.

"I assumed I would be assigned menial tasks, but that was not the case at all," said Anya. "I helped to prepare trip itineraries, an organizational newsletter, and a tax publications survey. I also shadowed the Deputy Press Secretary from the Governor's Press Office."

The internship is one of several coordinated by the Center for the Study of Democracy to provide students with the learning opportunities that will help them in their life after St. Mary's.

Drawing together the sectors of campus, classroom, and community, the Center sponsors education about the roots of democracy in colonial Maryland and its link to contemporary issues. Established in 2003 as a collaboration between Historic St. Mary's City and St. Mary's College of Maryland, the Center offers a visiting scholars program and lecture series; international study opportunities for students from St. Mary's and from abroad; internship programs in the State of Maryland government; specially designed course offerings; voter registration; and publication of white papers.

All of the Center's programs are designed to enrich the St. Mary's community and to help St. Mary's students study more closely the development of democracy in both the United States and other countries.

In September 2004, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded the Center a $500,000 We the People grant in a 3:1 matching challenge. This grant will help build an endowment and will allow the Center to continue to provide special programs, events, and guest speakers.

The NEH award requires the Center to raise, in yearly increments, $1.5 million by 2008 to qualify for the full $500,000 grant. Thanks to the help of alumni and friends of the College, the Center is meeting its funding goals, but still needs your help. If you are interested in making a gift, please call 240-895-4286 or 800-458-8341.

For more information about the Center and its programs, visit www.smcm.edu/democracy

Current Giving Stories

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The Center for the Study of Democracy: Exploring issues in global democracy in a hands-on environment

Give to
SMCM