Alumni - Richland Community College

& AlumniFriendsWalter and Alice SchererLeave $6.8 Million Gift Claire Gillett ‘08Gift Will Fund Scherer ScholarshipsIn 1991, Walter andAlice Schererestablished a scholarshipthrough the RichlandCommunity CollegeFoundation for studentswho attend RichlandCommunity Collegeimmediately followinggraduation from highschool. Tuitionassistance continues atan Illinois publicfour-year university foran additional two years.Mr. Scherer, a self-madeengineer, realized the importance of formal education and thevalue of philanthropic giving. He wanted to ensure that youngpeople had the opportunity he never had – to pursue a formaleducation.After Walter’s death in 1992, Alice continued to supportthe scholarship. When she died in 2008, Richland CommunityCollege Foundation became the beneficiary of the WalterScherer Trust. This wonderful gift to the young people of theRichland Community College District will provide theresources to continue the Walter and Alice Scherer Scholarshipfor generations to come.To date, this scholarship has provided over $400,000 intuition assistance for 74 outstanding students who graduatedfrom Richland Community College and continued at anIllinois public four-year university.In appreciation for their remarkable generosity and supportof education and in recognition of Mr. Scherer’saccomplishments as a self-educated engineer, Richland proudlynamed its Industrial Technology Center the Walter and AliceScherer Industrial Technology Center.Richland Community College Alumni NewsletterGrateful Scherer ScholarAs I began Richland in 2007, my goal was to obtain anAssociate of Science in Mathematics as quickly and“smoothly as possible. I loaded up my schedule with 16-18credit hours every semester and worked at least 20 hours atMoweaqua Foods.With the help of the Walter and Alice SchererScholarship, I was able to graduate from Richland with adegree in three semesters following graduation from highschool. Now, as a first-semester junior at Illinois StateUniversity, I appreciate the scholarship even more.I have started my education there with the hopes ofgraduating in the fall of 2010 with a Bachelor of Science inActuarial Science. With three math classes this semester, I donot find myself with a lot of free time. Outside of coursework, Iam expected to take and pass at least two exams administeredby the Society of Actuaries and Casualty Actuarial Society bythe time I graduate from ISU. Therefore, most of my time istaken up with studying and homework.The Walter and Alice Scherer Scholarship has allowed meto take this semester off from working. Most college studentsare not as fortunate. I feel extremely lucky that I can focus onmy studies and not worry about finances so much. It hasallowed me to adjust to a new home, make new friends, andfind a church. It has allowed me to go to college, debt free, as Ihave not had to take out any student loans. With the Scherers’blessings and generous gifts, they have kept my dreams and thedreams of other students alive by donating to our educations.For this, I am extremely thankful.”Richland President Dr. Gayle Saunders; Suzanne Hartwig, niece ofAlice Scherer; Wegi Stewart, Executive Director, Richland Foundation;and Claire Gillett, Scherer Scholar, gather at the “Investing in ourFuture Campaign” announcement on April 29, 2009.8 Spring/Summer 2009