University of Vermont sophomore Kaelyn Burbey’s scholarship is a gift that has launched a lifetime of giving back.
“I know I speak for many great scholarship students when I say that my scholarship will not stop with me, but will be used as a platform for progress and to enhance the lives of others,’’ said Burbey, an Honors College student from San Diego, Calif., double majoring in environmental engineering and mathematics who has made the dean’s list every semester.
At the University of Vermont’s “Celebrating Scholarship” dinner Monday night, Burbey joined donors and dozens of recipients of more than $10 million raised last year in scholarship support for UVM students from alumni and private donors.
“An education lasts a lifetime, and I plan to use mine to the benefit of others and the environment,” Burbey told a roomful of scholarship donors at the university’s annual scholarship dinner in the Dudley H. Davis Center's Grand Maple Ballroom.
Last year Burbey received the June Veinott Award for the female student who at the end of her first year of study shows the greatest promise of being successful in the engineering profession. She was also a recipient of the Rockowitz Endowed Scholarship for students studying in the Honors College. A cadet sergeant with the UVM Army ROTC “Green Mountain Batallion,” she received the Superior Cadet Award last year and was on the Ranger Challenge Team this year. In the free time she can find, she also participates in club softball and is an avid snowboarder.
“Everything I have done, everyone I have met, and everything I have learned since I enrolled at UVM is directly attributed to the generous donors that have made my time here possible,” Burbey said. “The scholarship most notable to me personally is the Rockowitz Scholarship, and I would like to extend my deep appreciation to Bruce Rockowitz for his contribution to my education, my time here at UVM, as well as my future endeavors.”
Bruce Rockowitz, an international marketing executive who attended UVM from 1978 to 1980 and left to pursue a professional tennis career, established the Rockowitz Scholarship at UVM in 2013 to benefit outstanding Honors College students.
“I am thankful to be a citizen of this great country,” Burbey concluded. “I am thankful to be a Catamount and look forward to when I can give back to UVM because I am deeply grateful to the scholarship donors who have invested in me.”
About 300 students and benefactors attended the annual “Celebrating Scholarship” dinner, which brought donors together with the students who are benefiting from their gifts.
The event, sponsored by University of Vermont Foundation with President Tom Sullivan and Leslie Black Sullivan ’77, was titled “Building the Future Together.” It featured remarks by UVM Foundation president and CEO Rich Bundy and Sullivan.
President Sullivan thanked the donors present on behalf of the university and the students. “We have over one hundred million dollars set aside at this university for scholarships, a large part of that through your great generosity as donors and friends and alumni.... Last year alone we had 10 million dollars of new commitments set aside just for scholarships to help recruit and support the talent that you see in this room tonight. Private donations are critically important for the success of our students, and I would say for the success of this university and its reputation,” Sullivan said. “In my view there is nothing more important than the ability to recruit the most talented students, support them while they’re here, and watch them flourish in their careers.”