AUGUSTA — Beverly and David W. Worthington have made a donation to the UMA-Rockland Center to support and encourage local high school graduates to pursue higher education in the Midoast area.
Under the heading Beverly and David W. Worthington Scholarship Fund, the gift in the amount of $25,000 supports recent local high school graduates who did not get scholarships from the Worthington Scholarship Foundation, or qualify for the University of Maine at Augusta’s Pine Tree Pledge. Students must be admitted into a degree program and attending full-time at the UMA Rockland Center in order to be eligible for a scholarship gift of up to $2,000 in their first semester.
The Worthingtons have shown for many years unprecedented commitment to lowering the cost of higher education and making college education possible for students, according to a news release from UMA. They most recently recently established the Worthington Scholarship Foundation in Maine, which has a mission to provide scholarships and support services for Maine students attending Maine colleges, making this personal gift to UMA Rockland all the more significant, the release said.
Recognizing some of the unique characteristics of students who attend the UMA Rockland Center close to home, the Worthington’s hope to inspire young people who may have thought college was beyond their means, it said.
According to UMA Rockland Director Deborah Meehan, “The generosity of Beverly and David is having an immediate and lasting impact on local students’ college aspirations. By minimizing student loan debt and encouraging degree completion, they are making an enormous contribution to many young lives, and to Maine.”
According to Beverly Worthington, “We recognize the importance of the UMA Rockland Center to students who wish to attend college close to home and to prepare for important careers. The recent expansion of UMA’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing to the Rockland Center is an excellent example of a college career we wish to support. We have seen the outreach and student supports Deb and her dedicated staff provide to students who attend this campus, which contributes so essentially to student success.”
For more information, contact the UMA Rockland Center at 207-596-6906.
