The Annual Business Campaign kicked off its scholarship fund this week with a breakfast honoring nearly 50 area business leaders for their support.
Since 1993, businesses have contributed to the fund, which provides scholarships to students from Albany, Columbia, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schoharie and Schenectady counties.
“Union was founded as ‘Schenectady’s school,'” President Stephen C. Ainlay told attendees at College Park Hall, “and the partnerships between the College and the community are alive and well today."
What differentiates Union from other colleges, he said, "is that we give students access to faculty and research that most students won’t experience until they attend graduate school. Your support enables us to provide these opportunities to invest in students who will shape and improve our society in the future.”
One of those scholars is Hilary Handin '08, a History and French major from Guilderland.
In the spring, Handin was an intern with the non-profit Feminist Majority Foundation in Washington, D.C. During her sophomore year, Handin spent a term in France, where she took cooking lessons from a Parisian chef, explored a writer’s chateau in Brittany and honed her language skills. This helped with her senior thesis about the role of women in the French Resistance during World War II.
“Union has provided me countless opportunities to sharpen my critical thinking skills and deepen my understanding of the world at large,” said Handin, a tutor in the College's Writing Center.
“I work intensively with a freshman preceptorial course each term, which enables me to make personal connections with students from all backgrounds. I love this work because I am able to watch them progress over the course of the trimester.”
Handin was introduced by the chairman of this year's campaign, Richard Fuerst '96 of Higgins, Roberts, Beyerl & Coan. Fuerst thanked Timothy Thornton '67 of McNamee, Lochner, Titus and Williams, who chaired the campaign for several years.
For more information on the Annual Business Campaign, visit http://www.union.edu/Alumni/Partners/ABC/ or contact Elizabeth Epstein at (518) 388-8380.