Semple.
But he is having a great influence on her life because he left a bequest to the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, which is providing Shae a scholarship for the second year. She also is spending this summer interning at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth,
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| Shae O'Hara (photo by Glen McClure) |
It's a great coincidence that this is the same shipyard where Wilfred, who died in 1966 at age 80, spent his career as an engineer.
Shae, a senior industrial and systems engineering major, is preparing to follow in the footsteps of Wilfred G. Semple, whose scholarship is for upper-level students from Hampton Roads studying engineering, physics or math.
We can only imagine how happy Wilfred would be today to know that Shae is working at the same shipyard where he spent his career. And, even better, she has been offered a job after graduation next May that she is planning to accept.
"College expenses can be a considerable financial burden for a family, especially when its chief bread winner is a public school teacher," says O'Hara, whose brother also is in college.
Since 1991, when the Semple Scholarship started, 34 students have been helped by $155,000 in scholarships. Semple's original charitable bequest was $120,713, but the power of endowment has made his fund grow over time to a value of $277,627 while helping students like Shae. This fall there will be four Semple Scholars in college, including Shae.
It is donors like Wilfred Semple who make all the difference for students with dreams of great careers.
(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $195 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. )
