"Park Scholars" Grant to Promote Academic Excellence and Service Learning

The Park Foundation has awarded a grant of nearly $1.3 million to the Roy H. Park School of Communications and Ithaca College to create an expanded and enhanced scholarship program in the school. Ten incoming freshmen will be given full four-year scholarships, with a commitment from the foundation to fund scholarships for an additional 10 incoming students in each of the following three years. These 40 students will form a community of scholars who will promote leadership and service learning and who will quicken the pace of academic, cocurricular, and service activity both on and off campus.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to build on the culture of excellence established in the Park School," says Ithaca College president Peggy R. Williams. "We greatly appreciate the support of the Park Foundation in helping outstanding students attend the College and benefit from all we have to offer, while at the same time allowing others to benefit from what the students themselves have to offer."

The Park Scholars Program was inaugurated in 1996 from an endowment established by a portion of a $10 million Park Foundation grant; the new grant will expand from 2 to 10 the number of scholarships awarded each year. The scholarships cover the full costs for four years of tuition, room, board, books, and fees as well as provide an allowance for personal and computer expenses.

Scholars will be selected through a rigorous recruiting and application process that will seek broad geographic representation, outstanding academic achievement, and significant cocurricular and service activities. Finalists will be invited to participate in an on-campus interview.

Thomas Bohn, dean of the Park School, says that including community service as a component of the Park Scholars Program will have a positive impact in a variety of ways. "We will encourage Park scholars to not only make individual service contributions in the school, the College, and the local community but also to develop specific group activities. This will help create a service learning and leadership culture that, over time, will have significant impact on the scholars’ roles as students, communications professionals, and Ithaca College alumni."

One such role model is television-radio major Melissa Bernardin ’01, who was named a Park scholar in 1997. While she has been at the College less than two years, her résumé is already a lengthy one:

• member of Leadership Advisory Committee, planning for College-wide Day of Service on March 26
• chair of budgets and finance for Office of Multicultural Affairs Leadership Conference Committee
• cochair of overnight/class hosting program for Office of Admission
• organizer of walkathon to raise funds for the Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance
• tutor in the writing center and teaching assistant for broadcast production course
• assistant producer for ICTV children’s puppet show
• orientation leader

Bernardin says that receiving a Park scholarship has allowed her to focus her energies on these and other worthwhile activities. And she doesn’t plan to stop now. "I’m forming a group for daughters of women with breast cancer who can speak at high schools, in residence halls and sororities at colleges—anywhere we can reach out to our peers to let the younger generation know that now is the time to reduce our breast cancer risk.

"It may be a cliché, but it’s true that what you learn outside the classroom is as important as what you learn inside," Bernardin adds. "I’ve discovered more about others and more about myself by taking part in these activities. With my concentration in scriptwriting and minor in sociology, I hope to work on children’s television programming when I graduate, to help teach others some of the lessons I’ve learned. For giving me that opportunity, I appreciate the Park scholarship more than I can ever express in words."