Hobart and William Smith Colleges

1 December 2004 Local Student Grateful for Scholarship Assistance

Funding from Geneva Scholarship Associates makes a Hobart and William Smith education possible for Geneva High grad

(Dec. 1, 2004) GENEVA, N.Y.First-year student Christie Torruella is thriving at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She enjoys all her classes, although shes having a tough time choosing between economics or sociology as a major. In addition, she is a member of Koshare dance and the Latin American Organization.

Its an academic dream come true for Torruella. For all this and more, she has her hometown, Geneva, to thank.

Torruella is the 2004-05 recipient of a scholarship from Geneva Scholarship Associates (GSA), a 36-year-old partnership between the Geneva community and the Colleges that helps financially deserving Geneva High School or DeSales High School students attend HWS. To date, more than 100 local youths have received assistance from GSA.

While at Geneva High School, Torruella was a class leader. An excellent student, she also was involved in several community service, sports and music programs.

My GSA scholarship means a lot to me because it is from the people of Geneva, who recognize how hard I worked in high school and wanted to see me succeed in college, she says. I would not have been able to attend college in my own community if it wasnt for this.

Members of the GSA board hope to help even more students like Torruella in the years to come. Their goal is to have eight to 10 scholarship recipients enrolled at the Colleges at any given time, as has been the case through the years, but to increase individual scholarship amounts, in the $3,000 to $5,000 range. These awards would be renewed annually, based on the recipients continued financial need and academic good standing.

To make that happen, the GSA endowment would have to be more than tripled. The associations current endowment stands at roughly $300,000, with an ultimate goal of $1 million in funding.

With continued support from the Geneva community, we will meet this objective, says GSA board President Rob Anania Jr.

For more information on GSA and how to make a gift, contact the associations HWS liaison, Leila Rice, at 781-3752 or lrice@hws.edu.

###