Thursday, Mar 8, 2018
The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation supports mature women students at Rider
by Tracey McCarthy
More than 1,500 scholarships have been awarded to mature women students at Rider University since the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation partnered with Rider in 1981.
The latest scholarship recipients — 29 in total — were recognized during the annual Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation Scholarship Reception on March 1. Despite the scholarship being well-established, several firsts were celebrated at the event, including the awarding of two newly endowed scholarships.
Melissa Rosen, a single mother to two young children who has balanced three jobs while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average at Rider, received the first-ever Dr. Katherine E. Mortimer-Charlotte W. Newcombe Endowed Scholarship. Rosen is currently a student in Rider's nationally ranked Online Psychology program and will graduate this August.
“Years from now," Rosen said at the reception, "I may not remember the monetary amount contained in my award letter, but I will always remember its message that says...we believe in you so much that we are going to help you out!”
While attending Rider, Dr. Katie Mortimer ’92 received a Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship that provided her with the financial resources and the affirmation to complete her studies. Mortimer went on to earn a master’s degree and a doctorate in education and enjoy a satisfying and successful career in education. She endowed the new scholarship last year.
Asia Panzino was the first-ever recipient of the Rider Women’s Leadership Council-Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship in honor of President Emeritus Mordechai Rozanski.
“It’s been because of scholarships and support like that which the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation put into place here that I’ve been able to continue to seek empowerment through my education,” she said. Panzino graduated Fall 2017 with a B.A. in Psychology and is currently pursuing her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
The Newcombe Foundation offers scholarship aid to women over 25 who have completed at least half of a baccalaureate degree. Applicants may be enrolled part- or full-time, and scholarships are awarded on the basis of clarity of career goals, financial need and academic record.
Scholarship recipients often cite that, in addition to the financial help, the award provides emotional support that helps them succeed.
“I cannot state more emphatically that neither my education nor ultimately my career would have been reachable goals without my fellowship from the Charlotte Newcombe Foundation," said past recipient Eleanor Antonakos '95, '97, who earned a bachelor's in accounting and a master's in business administration from Rider, in a recorded message. "I want to thank the Foundation from my heart for what they have done for me and my family.”
"We're so proud of our Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship recipients," says Denise Pinney, Associate Vice President of Campaign Operations and Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. "Rider has long had a community of faculty, staff and Newcombe Scholarship alumnae who are committed to our current students' success. We hear time and again from our scholarship recipients that this support and recognition makes a difference to them and motivates them to continue their educational pursuits despite their challenges."