Riparian - The Rivers School

It’s the scenario every admissions officer
dreads: the promising applicant,
the impressive scores, the special talent,
the devoted family—and financial
need that can’t be met. The student is
admitted but relegated to financial aid
limbo, waiting for someone ahead in the
queue to move up or give up and open the
acceptance door for them.
This scenario has been played out with
increasing frequency—from top-tier colleges,
down through the independent school
ranks to the elementary level—as institutions
and families struggle with the anxiety
and uncertainty of the economic meltdown.
And the stakes themselves seem to
rise higher as the job market shrinks, and
it’s more critical than ever before to clear
each educational hurdle, as psychologist
Rob evans noted in a recent Independent
School magazine article.
But there have always been, and amazingly
there continue to emerge, individuals
who see beyond their own lives to the big
picture, individuals who recognize the
transformative power of education and
want to provide that lifeline
to a young person they have
never even met.
As the need for financial
aid increases, Rivers has been
fortunate to have a relatively
new avenue of funding that
Head of School Tom Olverson
is pursuing with a passion
and with encouraging success.
Current use financial aid gifts have increased
five-fold in the past five years. This proactive
approach has allowed the school to
continue to advance its strategic goal of
diversifying the student body.
One such benefactor is trustee Dave
6 7 • Riparian • Fall 2009
lifelines to the Future:
Financial aid at rivers
Dave Davis ’70
Davis ’70. “When Jack Jarzavek
retired from teaching in
2005, I felt it was time to applaud
and reward Rivers for
the emphasis it places on the
arts and the value of art to a
well rounded education,” said
Davis. “When I was there in
the late sixties, Rivers didn’t
even have an art department.
It’s my recollection that two classmates and
I badgered the administration into offering
an art history class, which Jack taught.”
“I wanted to reward students who have
a talent in the arts and who recognize and
use it,” continued Davis. “I wanted to help
a student to benefit from what I couldn’t
have by funding the John B. Jarzavek Arts
Scholarship.” Over the past four years, Davis
has had the pleasure and satisfaction of
watching the student’s talent develop. Now
he is starting over again, helping another
upper School student benefit not only
from the arts at Rivers but from the whole
experience. “Rivers is unique,” Davis remarked.
“They have created the environment
where it is possible for
the star of the football team to
also be the lead in the musical.
That really sums it up for
me. I am so proud of Rivers
and that it has come to the
place it has.”
Alumni are not alone in
providing this direct level of
support. A number of parents
at Rivers believe so strongly in the value of
their child’s experience that they are providing
financial support for needy students
in addition to their own child’s tuition. “It
is the ultimate vote of confidence,” says
Olverson. “It has enabled us to really diver-
Rick Smith P’10
sify our community, to reach
out to individuals who will
bring not only their strengths
and abilities but also their history
and perspective into the
classroom and the community.
I can’t begin to thank
these families for the difference
they are making.”
“I was able to attend a
number of schools because I received financial
aid,” said Rick Smith P’10. “I believe it
not only provides opportunities for the students
on aid, but also enriches the experience
of all students. I wanted our gift to
help Tom to expand the program and actually
increase the availability of aid for Rivers
students.”
“i wanted to reward students
who have a talent in the arts
and who recognize and use it.”
Dave Davis ’70
Of course, even in these rocky times,
an institution’s endowed scholarships are the
backbone of its financial aid program. Born
of the same vision of equal access for all,
alumni, parents of graduates, friends, and
families remembering loved ones have all
set in motion those lifelines for the future.
Louise Cummings ’98 knows firsthand
the value of such support. “The most important
thing for me as a young person at
Rivers was the exposure I had to different
people, different ways of life,” said Cummings.
“For instance, my history teacher
Patti Carbery had a lot of experience and
had really seen the world. She recognized
that as a young black person, I should