On March 1st, applications for the 2008 Scout Fuller Fund for Social Justice Summer Service Award are due; all Manchester College students who will still be enrolled for the 2008-2009 academic year are eligible to apply.
The recipient of the award will receive up to $2000 of expenses directly related to a service-oriented internship, as well as up to an additional $3000 cash award to help cover expenses during the 2008-2009 school year.
This fund is in memory of Josephine “Scout” Wollman Fuller, the daughter of Abby Fuller (associate professor of sociology) and Neil Wollman (former professor of psychology), who died following a seven-month-long battle with cancer on July 7, 2007 at the age of eight.
“The idea for the fund originated very soon after Scout’s death out of a desire to perpetuate her legacy of concern for others and strong sense of justice,” said Abby Fuller. “We have all found it very meaningful to create and run the fund; it has given us something positive to do in the midst of our grief.”
In a tribute written for Scout’s Caring Bridge website, Abby said that “Scout was scrupulously honest, and could be indignant when others were not. She had a strong sense of fairness and was troubled when people were not treated equally…. She had philosophical discussions with her dad about evolution, about the spiritual world, about the importance of helping others…. It is Scout’s sensitivity to others, though, that was perhaps her defining quality.”
“We decided to give an award to an MC student for a summer internship or volunteer experience because as an MC prof, I know that there are many capable and motivated students who must work during the summer,” continued Fuller. “So, we decided to not only pay for the internship/volunteer experience but also to award extra money for the student to use the following year.”
“Scout inspired me,” said Neil Wollman. “We learned from each other, and she’s continued to inspire me in a lot of ways even after her death. For instance, I’ve been thinking more about how I interact with others, becoming calmer in certain ways, so there’s definitely been a personal involvement…. But there’s also been an effect in my work with social concern projects. Wherever I can, I try to think about Scout and how I can remember her and honor her in certain ways. This fund, likewise, is a way of remembering her and honoring her.”
“I feel that there are still a number of ways where it seems as though Scout is still around, helping other people,” Wollman continued. “It seems impossible to completely accept her death, but it is made easier to accept because of this sense that she still has a presence that reveals itself in ways that are helpful to people, and creative, and to a fair amount that means that she is showing her power continually and carrying on some of her character.”
A touching account of Scout’s story, told by members of her family, can be read at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/scout.
Information on the Scout Fuller Award for Social Justice, including a link to the application, can be found at http://www.scoutfullerfund.org/pages/apply-for-the-2008-summer-service-award.php.
(This article appeared in the February 15 edition of The Oak Leaves)
1 comment:
Thank you so much, Laura, for a touching and eloquent article. It was perfect.
Abby, Scout's mom
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