Scholar Letters 05

To the Class of 1950

August 20, 2005

A good many of us went through MIT on the G.I. Bill. In the years since, the Alumni Fund has been after us relentlessly for money, and many of our class have been generous contributors.

Not all of your money has been turned into buildings with no right angles and a surface:volume ratio suboptimal for heating and air conditioning. Some of us have directed all or part of our contributions to the Class of 1950 Financial Aid Fund, which assists legacy students — children and now grandchildren of members of the Class of 1950 and of other classes as well.

We’ve attached a few sample letters of thanks from the current cohort of seventy-five Class of 1950 Scholars, the latest of more than 479 we’ve helped so far. These are remarkable young people, as you can see from their background, achievements, courses, activities, ambitions, dreams, and goals. Beth Garvin of the Alumni Association once told her father-in-law, who shall be nameless, that he wouldn’t make the cut nowadays because the students now are so accomplished. We of the Class of 1950 can be proud that our fund has helped them in their time at MIT.

And when you make your next contribution, please don’t forget the Class of 1950 Financial Aid Fund.

To see a listing of all 2004/2005 Class of 1950 Legacy Scholars and their relationships to prior MIT graduates, click here.

Isaac Wu- (Father, Class of 1987, SM)

Dear Mr. Malcolm Green,

I am writing to express my appreciation for the generosity shown by the Class of 1950 in establishing what is now the largest class scholarship fund at MIT. Your generosity has allowed me to concentrate more on my academic and extracurricular pursuits at MIT. I am a Course 7 pre-medical student and am finishing up my junior year this term. Along with four classes and a neuroscience UROP, I will also be playing Varsity Baseball and doing a work study with ReachOut, a program that provides underprivileged students with reading tutors. Furthermore, as my fraternity’s Community Service Chair, I will be planning public service events for my house. The financial support you have provided me has allowed me to commit to all of these exciting and enriching activities.

Thank you very much for the support you and your class has given me these past few years. I am very grateful.

Sincerely,
Isaac Wu

Class of 1950 Scholar

Eric Broder- (Father, Class of 1971)

To the Class of 1950.

I am very grateful for the contribution you have made to my college education. I am quite

fortunate to be able to benefit from MIT's vast resources, and support such as yours has helped me make the most of my time in Boston.

For the second straight year, I live off campus in Allston, and every day I add to the many

fond memories I have of the Boston area. The year began with the special pressure of Law School applications. There were times when I felt out of place as a prelaw student at MIT,

but an early acceptance to my top choice (NYU) eradicated those doubts for good. The support I received from the MIT community was a tremendous help during the long process.

With my short-term goals fulfilled and the pressure off, I have been able to spend my senior year indulging in my eclectic interests with enthusiasm. It was very insightful to study public finance during an election year, just as it was to learn about cutting edge biotechnology research at this exciting time and place in the science.

in the fall, I sat in on a business law class at Sloan for the first time, and this spring I am sitting in on a globalization class at Harvard for the first time. Although I will never forget that MIT is an engineering school, I am very satisfied with the quality and diversity of classes offered here.

I feel good about my investment in an MIT education, and I hope you feel good about your investment in me.

Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,

Eric Broder

Leah Dancy- (Father, Class of 1968, 1970 SM)

Dear Class of 1950,

I have been named a Class of 1950 Scholar this year, and I just wanted to thank the entire class for their generosity. It is because of your giving that I have the amazing opportunity to study at MIT. I am the seventh child my father (MIT class of 68) and mother have sent through college, the fourth child sent to MIT, so all the financial help along the way is much appreciated. I grew up in New Hampshire, and I am the seventh out of ten children. One of my earliest memories is going with my parents to drop off my oldest sister at MIT for her freshmen year. MIT has always been part of my family for as long as I can remember, so I was thrilled this fall to be given the chance to study at MIT. I recently declared chemical engineering as my major, and I also intend to fulfill all the premedical requirements. At the moment my plan is to go to medical school after graduating from MIT and someday be a doctor.

Thank you again for all of your generosity

Sincerely

Leah Dancy MIT class of 2008

Thank you for helping me finance my MIT education. My two years at MIT have been amazing. I have very much enjoyed my Mechanical Engineering courses, especially the 2.007 design course. I feel like I have already learned a tremendous amount and I cannot wait to apply my knowledge and skills to the biomechatronics lab where I plan to do research this summer. My mechanical engineering courses have made me very interested in prosthetics and limb rehabilitation and I am very excited about further pursuing this interest as I continue my education at MIT.

From: "Olusola A Aina" To: Sent: Monday, February 14, 2005 11:38 PM Subject: Thank You from a Scholarship Recipient >

My name is Olusola Aina, and I am a sophomore who was awarded a scholarship from the Class of 1950 Scholarship Fund. I wanted to express my thanks for the scholarship and let you know how it has allowed me to experience the brilliant and unique atmosphere of MIT. My freshman year at MIT was very difficult. I have since, however, adjusted to the academics, and I am enjoying my studies. I recently decided on a double major in Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Literature. I am certain that it will be a lot of work for the next two years, but I find both areas of study truly fascinating. So, I expect that it will be enjoyable as well. In my spare time, I've been able to join a few extracurricular groups at MIT including a political action group and the debate team. The best aspects of my MIT experience so far have been the challenging and stimulating courses I've taken and the unique people I've met. I would not have been able to experience those aspects of MIT without your support.

Mr. Malcolm Green:
My name is Noel Davis. I am currently a second semester junior at MIT, and have just been notified that a significant portion of my scholarship this year is coming from your classes endowment fund. I would like to thank you, and all of the members of your class for your generosity, as my education here would probably not be possible without it.

So far, this year has been a very busy one. I began Level I Architectural Design Studios in the fall, and am currently taking my second, Building in Cities. I am currently in the process of putting together a portfolio of my work for application to the Exchange Program that MIT's Architecture Department does with TU Delft, in the Netherlands. If I am accepted, I will spend next term taking classes there. I plan to apply to MIT as well as a few other schools for Graduate Programs in the fall.

I hope all is well with you, and the rest of the '50s and I thank you again for your generosity and support.

Sincerely

Noel Davis
416 Beacon = St.
Boston, MA 02115
617-335-7702

Hi Mr. Green,

Thank you very much for the 1950 Scholar Award. I am very thankful for the
recognition.

I am a junior at MIT studying biology with plans to attend medical school
following graduation in 2006. I am from Woodstock, NY where I am the oldest of
three. My father attended MIT in the 70's and studied electrical engineering.
He went onto to get his J.D. at NYU and is now a intellectual property
attornery for IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Here at MIT, I participate on three Varsity sports teams: Cross-country,
basketball, and track. I am currently the captain of the basketball team and
am having the best season of my career. I also have a UROP at the Center for
Cancer Research in the Jack's Lab where I do colon cancer research. I have had
great experiences in this lab and have learned more than I ever imagined.

Thanks again for the award!!

Sincerely,
Karen Kinnaman

Dear Mr. Green,

I would like to thank you and your classmates very much for selecting me as a
Class of 1950 scholar. I greatly appreciate your assistance. I am sure my
grandfather, Mr. Bazle Karim, would have been very proud, as he graduated from
MIT with a M.S. in Chemical Engineering. Sadly, he passed away in 1992, and is
buried in my hometown of Little Rock, AR. He accomplished much with his MIT
education and always talked highly of the Institution. His praise for MIT
encouraged my interest in the school, and I am grateful that I have the
opportunity to attend school here.

I just started the second semester of my freshman year, and am enjoying it
more and more as I adjust to this intense environment. I am interested in
majoring in Brain and Cognitive Sciences with a possible minor in Biomedical
Engineering. Besides fulfilling the GIRs, I have started taking classes in my
major, and enjoy learning about the brain in depth. I hope to get a UROP this
summer and explore the research aspect of MIT life. Once again, thank you very
much for your generosity.

Sincerely,

Mariam Shaikh

Greg Williams- (Grandmother, Class of 1948)

Dear Mr. Green,

As a Class of 1950 Scholar, I just want to take this opportunity to express my
appreciation to you and your classmates for your continued generosity. Your
scholarship fund has helped me to remain at MIT where I have had so many
opportunities. I am now in my junior year studying aeronautics and
astronautics, and am enjoying it very much. I also continue to play varsity
baseball. Last semester I was able to do research in MIT's Center for Sports
Innovation which was one of my best college experiences so far. This has led to
a summer job offer doing research at Rawlings Sporting goods which I am very
excited about. Opportunities and experiences like these can only come from
places like MIT, and again, I am very grateful to you and your class for your
support.

Thank you very much!

Hello,
My name is Lara Hershcovitch. I've been renewed as a Class of 1950
Scholars. I wanted to thank you and all the alums for this generous
donation to all the undergraduates. I'm currently majoring in Brain and
Cognitive Sciences and am really starting to enjoy my classes. Although it
was really hard for me to adjust to MIT in the beginning, things are
getting better now. I'm very involved in the MIT gymnastics team and
volunteering as an EMT at MIT. Receiving the scholarship made me feel
even better. I'm looking forward to continuing my education at MIT, and
hopefully attending medical school in the future.

Thank you for all your support,
Lara Hershcovitch

Brian Mazzeo- (Grandfather, Class of 1950, 1953 SM)

Mr. Malcolm Green,

I want to thank you and the Class of 1950 for your generosity through your
Scholarship for my years at MIT. It makes a huge difference for me to
study at MIT and scholarships have made my experience possible, for without
them, I know that I would not have been able to attend. In my time here I
have discovered a passion for electrical engineering and I hope to be able
to push the frontiers of knowledge in that field.

A senior, I look back on my years here and I realize that I have enjoyed
unparalleled opportunities, learning from some of the greatest minds and
developing my own talents. I have worked in the MIT Media Lab, building
tiny controlled devices, to modeling amorphous semiconductor devices, which
I currently do in Professor Akinwande's group.

My voyage of discovery and growth will not end at MIT. I was awarded a
Marshall Scholarship and so next year I will begin graduate work at the
University of Cambridge in England, furthering my studies in electrical
engineering. Once again, it is by generous funds made available through
scholarships that will give me opportunities that, unaided, I could only
dream about.

As I have said in the past, my grandfather was a member of the class of
1950, and it is special to me that I continue in the fine tradition of a
large MIT family. Thank you for your support through the Class of 1950
Scholarship.

Sincerely,
Brian Mazzeo

My name is Jina Sinskey and I am one of this year's Class of 1950 Scholars. I will be graduating in less than a month and would like to thank you for your generous contribution that has made my education at MIT possible. I am currently majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Biology and am deeply involved in the UROP program at MIT. I have worked in the Sharp laboratory at the Center for Cancer Research for over a year, and was able to publish a paper as second author in Genes and Development this past March. I am currently applying to medical school and plan to matriculate in the fall of 2006.

At MIT, I have been involved in the MIT Korean Students' Association for over three years. During this time, I have served as KGSAIKSEA Liaison and worked to further develop relations between our group and the MIT Korean Graduate Students' Association, as well as the Korean-American Scientist and Engineers Association. As part of my work, I have helped organize the annual National Math Competition for KSEA for the past three years. I have also organized the annual Korean culture show at MIT.

Immediately after graduation, I plan to work at Monitor Group as a consultant. I would like to learn more about business and am particularly interested in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. My hope is that this experience will broaden my perspective on healthcare and ultimately make me a better doctor in the future. Once again, thank you so much for your support. It is heartening to know that people put in the time and effort to help us students receive the education necessary to achieve our goals. I hope you are well at this time and wish you all the best in the future. Sincerely,