Keeping Meredith Strong
Educating Future Generations
W
hen Mary Estes Speight, ’53, opened a gift from her children on Christmas morning last year,
she had no idea of its significance – to her personally, and to Meredith students for years to come. Speight’s
children,
Chris
Speight
Brown, ’76, Elizabeth Speight Cooley, and Robert Wilton Speight, Jr., were looking for a meaningful and lasting way to honor their mother. With three generations of Meredith alumnae in their family and a deep Mary Estes Speight, ’53 (center), with her children, Chris Speight Brown, ’76, Elizabeth Speight Cooley, and Robert Wilton Speight, Jr.
commitment to helping others succeed, they decided that creating an endowed scholarship was the ideal way to both support the College and create a powerful legacy in their mother’s name.
Speight graduated from Meredith in
1953. Originally her father had encouraged her to attend Mary Baldwin, but an acquaintance
convinced
her
Meredith
offered a stronger education. A childhood education
major,
she
formed
close
relationships with other students – at that time, the smaller size of the College meant that all ages of students came to know one another.
According to Mary Speight’s daughter,
Chris Brown, that close sense of community is one of the characteristics she and her mother cherish about Meredith. Brown also appreciated the all-women’s environment
With three generations of Meredith alumnae in their family and a deep commitment to helping others succeed, they decided that creating an endowed scholarship was the ideal way to both support the College and create a powerful legacy in their mother’s name.
opportunities. After a six-week trip to Spain, she knew it wasn’t enough and departed four weeks later to Santiago, Chile, where she spent a semester. Today, De Armas and her husband own and run El Informador, a Spanish language publication in the Charleston, S.C. area.
The Mary Estes Speight Endowment
will fund “opportunity” scholarships for
Thanksgiving. It was awesome because
path to graduation, but have exhausted
you had to establish friendships,” said
their financial ability to stay at Meredith.
Chris Brown. “I still have some of those
friendships today.”
reflecting on the gift. “And we were raised
with the belief that it’s important to help
Brown’s daughter, Lisa Brown De Armas,
’03, was the third generation of Speight’s
“When I was a student, you weren’t
family to attend Meredith. An international
allowed to take an overnight trip until after
business major with a concentration in
Honor Roll of Donors 2013-14
of languages through two study abroad
upper-level students who are on a clear
that allowed her to focus on her education.
6
Spanish, De Armas built on her early love
“We’re a very close family,” said Brown,
other people.”