![Andrew Siebengartner
'03 excelled in the John Dewey Honors program and hopes to share his love of classical languages with the next generation of students and scholars.
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04.08.04 DODGE FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP FUND PROMOTES CULTURAL DIVERSITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT
Enhancing the diversity of the student experience is an important UVM priority, and increasing the funds available for student scholarships is a key objective of The Campaign for the University of Vermont.
Both of these vital objectives are served by a generous $500,000 Campaign commitment from Anne and Steven Dodge, parents of senior Benjamin Dodge '04, to the Dodge Family Cultural Diversity Scholarship Fund.
The Dodges first created the fund several years ago to help attract students to UVM who can contribute to the cultural diversity of the student body and campus life. "Steve and I want to help young people who have so much promise and motivation and who might otherwise not have an opportunity to attend college," says Anne, who was recently elected to the UVM Board of Trustees.
Nathaly Filion is one of the current group of UVM students who benefits from the Dodge family scholarship. She is in the fourth year of a five-year program of study pursuing a dual degree in Integrated Natural Resources and Vocal Music Performance.
"Music and the environment have been my passions for my whole life," she says. A gifted mezzo soprano, Nathaly has given public performances at UVM and elsewhere in Vermont as part of her music major. She spent the spring semester of 2003 studying the ecosystems of the New Zealand archipelago in fulfillment of the requirements for a course in ecosystem management — "just an awesome experience," she says, during which she developed a curriculum unit for New Zealand elementary school teachers on The Ecology and Mythology of Plants. "The idea was to contribute to the larger effort to bring the indigenous Maori people into the mainstream educational system in New Zealand," she says.
Filion says the Dodge Family Scholarship has made it possible for her to take advantage of everything UVM has to offer, and she's done just that. Since 2001, she has worked as an AdvoCat, one of a group of 50 students who assist the undergraduate Admissions Office in recruitment. As a Resident Assistant in Harris/Millis, she helps create community through social events, community meetings, and educational programming. A native of the Dominican Republic, she's also an active member and past president of Alianza Latina, the student-run organization dedicated to supporting the Latin American community at UVM.
"Finding the right fit in the choice of a college is important," Filion says. " I really feel that UVM has fostered wonderful growth in me as an individual."