On Tuesday, May 27, during an official signing ceremony on the campus of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s Ryken High School senior Stephanie Schindler formally accepted the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Joseph and Kathleen Garner Endowed Scholarship.
The need-based scholarship fund, established in February 2012, provides tuition and supplementary co-curricular support to a student attending St. Mary’s College, with preference for St. Mary’s Ryken High School graduates.
Vice President for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admissions Gary Sherman, said, “Stephanie was a perfect candidate for the Joseph and Kathleen Garner Scholarship. While maintaining a stellar academic record, Stephanie has been a student athlete as a junior varsity and varsity cheerleader, a community volunteer and has even held a job during her senior year. We welcome Stephanie to St. Mary’s College and look forward to the contributions she will make as a student.”
In her remarks during the ceremony, St. Mary’s Ryken President Mary Joy Hurlburt told Schindler the scholarship is a “wonderful gift and life-changing opportunity. … The college [St. Mary’s College] is renowned and I know you’ll do great things.”
Schindler, who was at work when she received the phone call notifying her that she had been selected, said, “I’ve worked really hard for this. … I’m really excited about the scholarship. It’s an amazing opportunity and I am so grateful.”
In establishing the endowment, Joseph and Kathleen Garner wish to “provide students with a complete experience, void of the need for supplemental loans, so that their education and the experiences that support it are their focus.”
Joseph Garner graduated from St. Mary’s Ryken High School in 1966 and from St. Mary’s College in 1974. Kathleen Garner graduated from the University of Maryland and served as a teacher in the St. Mary’s County region.
Leadership at both St. Mary’s College and St. Mary’s Ryken praise the scholarship for underscoring the strong relationship between the two institutions.
