Going Up

The Case Alumni Foundation welcomed a large and happy class of Junior Senior Scholars this spring

Case Alumni Association board member Paul Stephan ‘64 introduces himself to scholarship winners. Case Alumni Association board member Arkady Polinkovsky ‘08, MS ‘10, chats with students at the scholarship reception.

Emma Wyckoff, a sophomore majoring in civil engineering, had just gotten into her car on campus when the news popped up on her smart phone. She had been awarded a Junior Senior Scholarship, which will help pay for her final two years at Case Western Reserve University.

“Oh, I cried,” she said. “I sat in my car and I cried.”

The scholarship means she and her family can avoid burdensome debt as she completes her degree program, she said. It will allow her to focus more keenly on her studies.

Other scholarship winners voiced similar reasons to smile, lending a festive air to the annual Junior Senior Scholarship Reception, which drew about 150 students, faculty and alumni to the atrium of Nord Hall the evening of March 28.

The large gathering of scholars illustrated the increasing impact of an alumni-driven scholarship program.

Sophomores and juniors in the Case School of Engineering and in the math and science programs of the College of Arts and Sciences are eligible for the two-year scholarships, which are designed to help stellar students finish their CWRU degrees.

The Case Alumni Foundation, which sponsors the program, awarded a larger-than-usual amount this year,

The happy scholars included Rohan Sinha, a sophomore majoring in electrical engineering and economics. He wants to be an entrepreneur.

“This scholarship lets me be a little bit more of a gunslinger about my education,” he said. “My goal is to learn as much as I possibly can. At Case, although the quality of the education is high, debt can weigh you down. I feel as though now I don’t have as much of a burden.”

Addressing the reception, Stephen Haynesworth, the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, reminded the students that the scholarships represented more than money.

“It means that whoever nominated you really felt that you were worthy not only of recognition but of investment. So this is a big deal,” he said.

Christian Zorman, the Associate Dean of Research for the Case School of Engineering, told the students that they were on their way to something special.

“You are Case scientists and engineers and that means a lot,” he said. “That’s a stamp of approval that will carry you through your careers.”

owing to sustained alumni giving in recent years. About $634,400 will be distributed among 134 new Junior Senior Scholars for 2020. When renewing scholars are added, the total of monies dispersed through the Junior Senior Scholarship program in 2020 surpasses $1.1 million.

Key numbers:

• Number of students awarded a scholarship: 134

• Total amount awarded: $634,400

• Scholarship range: $2,100 to $10,000

• Average award: $4,734

• Highest award: $10,000

• The scholarship committee aims to award scholarships averaging 10 percent of tuition, which next year will rise to $50,450. (Room and board, $15,500, can push the cost of a CWRU education to $65,950).

All of the award winners were invited to the reception, where they were congratulated by faculty and alumni. For information on the Junior Senior Scholarship program contact Janna Greer; Janna. Greer@casealum.org or 216-368-3647.