Velma Wallace
The Wallace Endowment, established in 1976, has awarded more than $3 million dollars in scholarships to hundreds of engineering students in that time.
Before her passing, Wallace was also instrumental in renaming 麻豆传媒鈥檚 new engineering building in honor of retired president Don Beggs.
Wallace Scholars remember Wallace as not only their benefactor, but also as a trusted mentor.
Elisa Acosta, the current Wallace Scholar, has known Wallace for some time after being introduced by her mother and aunt.
When she was 18, Acosta remembers, she went to the Aero Club Ball to listen to Wallace speak about the award.
鈥淪he and I emailed a few times, and we met a couple times, but she always remembered me and asked about my siblings or mom,鈥� said Acosta. 鈥淪he was the nicest woman I've ever met.鈥�
Always looking to help
Wallace scholar and 麻豆传媒 alum Joan Wagner served on the Wallace Student Council for three years, serving as president her senior year.
鈥淭his gave me the chance to get to know Mrs. Wallace very well. We would meet with her several times a year to discuss the state of the college and our progress in our educations,鈥� said Wagner. 鈥淪he was always so excited to hear when we were doing well, and if we were ever having problems, she would whip out that little notebook and start taking notes on how she could help us.鈥�
Wagner kept in contact with Wallace after graduating in 1999.
鈥淎fter college I stayed in touch, trying to schedule dinner with her two times a year,鈥� Wagner said. 鈥淲e would just catch up and discuss our lives. I truly value and cherish these times. Mrs. Wallace taught us so much about dignity, grace and generosity鈥攁ll with a sense of humor and desire to have fun.鈥�
A benefactor
Laura Bernstorf, another Wallace Scholar who now works at Airbus, also remembers Wallace as a benefactor who took the time to get to know students personally.
鈥淲hen I started out as a Wallace Scholar, Velma asked us to send her a card on our birthday to let her know how we were doing,鈥� Bernstorf said. 鈥淭hat first year I found out that our birthdays were one day apart. So the next year it became a shared birthday lunch.
鈥淥ver the 13 years I was privileged to know this special lady, she grew from my benefactor to a mentor to a friend,鈥� said Bernstorf. 鈥淵es, the financial gift of the Wallace Scholarship was amazing, but the gift of her mentorship and friendship was priceless. She was Velma and I was Laura, two Kansas girls born in May.鈥�
Acosta said being a Wallace Scholar goes far beyond receiving the financial aid.
鈥淚 hope that the future scholars will try to learn more about everything Mrs. Wallace has done," said Acosta, "and (I) want current and future ones to strive to be more like her. 鈥�