Kristin Gaskins BA’28 fell in love with Willamette during her college search, drawn to the community values, academic options, and study abroad opportunities.
“Along with this,” she says, “I had read and heard that Willamette was known for offering good financial support, an important factor in my decision.”
When she opened her acceptance letter, she learned she’d received the competitive Schmidt Scholarship, designed to encourage high-achieving students to choose Willamette.
Established by Ronald and Lila BA’66 Schmidt, the Schmidt Scholarship removes financial barriers for top academic performers for whom Willamette might not otherwise be the most financially practical choice. It awards students up to $7,500 per year.
Now a double major in psychology and Spanish, Kristin is thriving at Willamette. She has found professors and friends who foster her learning and share her interests. Next year, she hopes to spend a semester studying in Spain.
“Willamette has been everything that I wanted,” Kristin says.
Helping the Best Students Choose Willamette
The Schmidt Scholarship is one of two competitive scholarship programs at Willamette for which recipients are chosen automatically—no separate application required—based on the strength of their Willamette admission application.
The other is the Fairweather Fellows Scholarship and Experience Program—which helped bring Owyn Wyatt BS’27 to Willamette.
“When applying for college, money was a big factor in deciding where to go,” Owyn says. “While I did make sure to only apply to schools that were inside the budget set by myself and my family, when Willamette came through with the Fairweather Fellowship, the choice was suddenly made incredibly clear.”
The Fairweather program provides fellows from any undergraduate discipline with up to $10,000 annually, as well as with academic support activities that position them for successful careers.
“Without the Fairweather Scholarship, I wouldn't have been able to come to this school. And it’s been a life-changing experience,” Owyn says.
Owyn is a computer science major and psychology minor. She has especially enjoyed the class “Data in the Cosmos,” which combines her interests in space and computer science.
“I’ve always loved school, and I was so excited to go to college,” Owyn says. “The big thing when I was trying to pick a school was that I didn’t want to get pigeonholed. I have so many interests: psychology, computer science, theater, art. I didn’t want to go to a very specialized school. I wanted to go to a liberal arts school, where I’d be able to explore all of my options.”
Last summer, as part of the Fairweather program, she served as a research intern for Assistant Professor of Computer Science Calvin Deutschbein, who is also her advisor, which gave her hands-on experience in cybersecurity hardware. The internship even took her to Greece for a week to study graph theory.
Two Generations of Donors, One Shared Vision
Behind Kristin’s and Owyn’s stories are donors with a shared vision of access.
“Education is just so important,” says Lila Schmidt. “When we set up the scholarships, Ronald and I both felt that it was an investment in the future. Without new ideas and creativity, there is no forward progress, be it in technology, science or the arts. Since both of us were the first in our families to complete a college degree, we felt it vital that we pass along the opportunity to others. It is a gift that we give gladly.”
The Fairweather Fellowship was created by two anonymous donors inspired by the Schmidt Scholarship.
“Our family created this fellowship to help Willamette recruit top students, and to address the daunting financial aid gap students face,” they said. “We named it after a special mountain in Alaska, because we hope the Fairweather Fellowship will help students summit their own mountains and lead lives of achievement, contribution, and meaning.”
Turning Knowledge into Action
Owyn and Kristin both aim to go to graduate school.
Owyn’s career goal is to become a computer scientist. She says that Willamette is providing the kind of broad computer science education that will help her determine where she’d like to specialize—in graduate school and beyond.
Kristin’s long-term plan is to earn a graduate degree in social work and dedicate her career to helping children. The Schmidt Scholarship is helping to make that future possible. “The money that I’m saving during my four years here will go towards my master’s,” she says. “Thanks to the support of financial aid, I was able to choose Willamette as the college I could attend, and I am grateful for it every day.”
