Scholarship Aids Families
From the winter 2008 issue of UConn Momentum
Health-care costs associated with serious illnesses can be crippling to families and impede a student’s pursuit of higher education. An alumnus who has personally experienced the devastating effects of cancer has endowed a scholarship fund to provide incoming and continuing students who face similar challenges with much-needed financial support.
Marshall Senk ’85 ’87 was inspired to create the scholarship after being diagnosed with lymphoma.
“I’ve spent the past 18 months fighting a very rare and aggressive blood cancer. It makes you reassess the priorities in your life and the things that you can no longer take for granted. Cancer is humbling, and it can throw the most carefully laid plans out the window,” says Senk. “Our family’s goal with this scholarship is to give some breathing space to UConn students who are pressured by the financial burdens that this disease in all its forms can inflict on a family.”
The Marshall Senk Family Scholarship will be given to full-time undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate financial need as a result of their own or a family member’s health-care costs related to cancer or other life-threatening illness.
John Saddlemire, vice president for student affairs, reports that a fairly high number of students and their families face cancer and other serious illnesses. The trauma and expense, whether they occur before or after the student enrolls, can significantly affect the student’s ability to achieve his or her academic goals.
“What a wonderful way to reach out and put students first who find themselves in a unique challenge while trying to get their degree,” says Saddlemire. “Knowing that we have someone who will help students like this is extraordinary.”
Senk, an investment manager, and his wife, Amy, were also motivated by a desire to give back to UConn. Senk earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in communication sciences at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
“My wife and I both believe very strongly in public education. I credit my UConn education and particularly my involvement in student activities with laying the foundation for my career,” says Senk. “The time seems right to us to give back, not only to thank UConn for all it has done for me, but also to do it in a way that can relieve the crushing financial burden that cancer can bring to a family.”
To support the Marshall Senk Family Scholarship, please contact Becky McEnery at 860.486.6851 or by e-mail.
