The Andrew & Sharon McDonald Family Endowed Scholarship
The Andrew & Sharon McDonald Family Scholarship will be awarded to two full-time students majoring in Elementary Education preparing to commence his/her student teaching. First preference will be given to applicants that have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and are the first in their family to attend college. In the McDonald family, “because nice matters” applicants should provide a short essay that highlights an example of how they have done something nice to help make someone’s life better and demonstrate how receiving this scholarship will then, in turn, help to improve their own life. *
In 1972, Sharon (Valiquette) McDonald `86, received a Christmas gift that would forever change her life…a copy of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. The lesson of that book…the gift of giving back…is one that she has held close to her heart her entire life. Forty-one years later, Sharon, and her husband Andrew, are proud that they have been able to create their own giving tree by establishing a family scholarship honoring the gift of education.
A former city resident, Sharon’s educational journey began in the Worcester Public Schools, where many of her most memorable teachers were graduates of Worcester State. The daughter of hard-working parents who weren’t fortunate enough to attend college, Sharon fulfilled their dream of higher education by attending Worcester State. “My parents worked so hard to give us things that they never had. My Dad wasn’t able to finish high school and often worked two jobs. My Mom was a high school graduate and had all of the talent to go onto college but none of the opportunity.”
However, attending college classes and working two jobs to pay tuition proved to be challenging. “At one point I had to drop out for a semester and never told anyone because I was too embarrassed. I had wonderful faculty that guided me through my toughest times. They helped me to create an internship in public relations with the Easter Seals Society that shaped who I’ve become today.” In 1986, Sharon graduated with a B.A. in English and married her husband Andrew shortly after that.
Andrew’s career would relocate them across the country to Colorado and later to Vermont. Building on the skills she learned in her internship, Sharon pursued a career in fundraising specializing in grant writing. Working on behalf of a multitude of nonprofits allowed her to continue to give back, even if only indirectly. Her work spanned important causes such as hospice, breast cancer, affordable housing, and most importantly education. Sharing in her passion for service, Andrew graciously gave back as well, always willing to volunteer his time and talents.
Sharon and Andrew eventually returned to Massachusetts and as her two children grew older, she was driven to find a way to reconnect to her alma mater. She never felt she had made the most of her college experience because she was a commuter that also worked. Her chance would come in 2004 when she was elected to the Alumni Advisory Board. Sharon embraced this second chance and served for 7 years eventually becoming President.
Endowing a scholarship is yet one more way that the McDonald family has chosen to give back to Worcester State. “Many people think that donating money is about getting a tax-deduction or having your name engraved on a plaque. But for us it isn’t about any of that… it’s because we’re passionate about the quality education that Worcester State provided to me. Like the giving tree, it makes us incredibly happy to know that we can ease the burden for another hard-working student and hopefully inspire them to give the gift of education to someone else in the future.”