The Florence Vivian “Tippie” Holmes Scholarship

Criteria: (Amount Equal to Two Full Annual Tuition Awards) The Florence Vivian Holmes Scholarship will be awarded to a student who is majoring in elementary education and who is committed to teaching in the Worcester Public Schools in grades K-6. This scholarship is granted to a junior-year student and shall be applied equally to the junior and senior years of his or her education. The recipient will have a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Preference will be given to a female applicant.

The late Florence “Tippie” Holmes believed that it is never too late to follow your dreams. At age 41, Mrs. Holmes entered Worcester State University to pursue a degree in education. Four years later, in 1972, she graduated magna cum laude and began a twenty-year career as an elementary school teacher in the Worcester Public schools.

Florence was an energetic, dedicated teacher who had a gift for reaching and teaching each and every one of her students. Teaching was one of the most important and gratifying aspects of her life, and she made it a rule to “give her all” to her students. In 1977, she earned a master’s degree in education from Assumption College.

Florence was married for 55 years to Robert W. Holmes. The couple had two children, a daughter Vivianne, who graduated from Worcester State University in 1969, and a son Stephen, who graduated from Wentworth College and Lowell Tech.

“Tip” and Rob shared a love of travel. They visited all seven continents and 41 countries worldwide, and Rob took many slides that the couple later made into travelogues for the classroom. He commented, “The travels that she and I took were another education in themselves.”

Mr. Holmes established this scholarship in 2001 in his wife’s memory. He noted, “Education was a goal in Florence’s life. She achieved it, and I was proud of her for being excellent in what she loved to do: Teach.”