JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 19, 2021 — One of the things Beverly Absher-Bone loves most about the minority scholarship funds she and her late husband Keith established is hearing from students who benefit from them.
鈥淭he sweetest thing is that, without a doubt, every minority student has said to me, 鈥榃ithout this scholarship, I would not have been able to come to Union,鈥欌�� Absher-Bone said. 鈥淚t brings me to tears every time I read a note like that.鈥�
The Absher Minority Business Scholarship Fund is just one of the scholarships available at 51社区 for black and other minority students. Catherine Kwasigroh, Union鈥檚 vice president for institutional advancement, said that as the nation observes Black History Month in February, it鈥檚 an opportune time for people to contribute to Union鈥檚 existing scholarships for black students or establish new scholarships.
鈥淎t Union, we鈥檙e committed to doing everything we can do to help students come to Union who want to be here,鈥� Kwasigroh said. 鈥淲hat better way to make a difference in the life of a deserving student than to help make a Union education possible?鈥�
John Adams, who retired as Union鈥檚 vice president for religious affairs, and his wife Robbie established the Dr. John and Robbie Adams Minority Scholarship Fund in 1989 for ministry students. Adams said they did that because they thought the Lord was leading them to do so.
鈥淚t goes back to the gospel 鈥� we鈥檙e all one in Christ,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淚 wanted to do something to say, 鈥楾his is who I am as a Christian.鈥欌��
Richard Kidd, a music major from Franklin, Tennessee, is one of the students who has received the Adams scholarship.
鈥淔or me, it was a scholarship that more so came as a surprise, which made it even sweeter a gift,鈥� Kidd said.
Kidd said education is a powerful tool and benefit to society, and private funds and scholarships especially can help empower students and meet specific financial and educational needs of people from all walks of life.
鈥淚 would greatly encourage more people to give to these foundations so that it can be a blessing to an ever-increasing amount of people and students,鈥� Kidd said.
Absher-Bone, who retired as Union鈥檚 dean for the School of Adult and Professional Studies, and her late husband Keith, dean of Union鈥檚 McAfee School of Business who passed away in 2015, established their scholarships in 2009 鈥� one for African American students and one for Hispanic/Latino students.
鈥淚 believe that education is the great equalizer,鈥� Absher-Bone said. 鈥淵ou can change a person鈥檚 life by giving them a chance for a quality education. We wanted to do what we could to make sure that at least a few minority students every year had a chance to go to Union.
鈥淭here are a lot of things we can do for this underserved population,鈥� she continued. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 know anything that could be much more important than helping them get an education at Union.鈥�
Absher-Bone said the scholarships benefit not just the minority students but the entire student body because she sees the value of having a diverse student population.
鈥淚t means so much for students to be able to go through classes with people who have different views, different ideas and different family lives than they have,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 know that makes the education richer and more meaningful for students.鈥�
Donations to student scholarships can be or by calling the Office of Institutional Advancement at (731) 661-5050.