The UVA Club of Jacksonville Scholarship was established by alumni in 2013 to provide assistance to student leaders from the Jacksonville area. The annual scholarship will be awarded to an incoming first-year student from the area with preference for high scholastic achievement.
Deadline: July 1
Amount: $1,500
About the Scholarship
When Lee Poechmann (Arch ’97) became Club President in 2019, part of his mission was to tap a latent desire percolating for years among Hoos that call Jacksonville home. After some additional research and working with UVA’s Office of Engagement, the UVA Club of Jacksonville began an ambitious project: to endow a full-tuition scholarship for a future UVA student from Jacksonville. The intent was to simply give the gift of UVA, and in the process create a legacy that would live beyond the local Club. In December 2021, the Club received its initial seed gift from Courtney Blackburn (Col ’99) and her husband Anthony Bartek to establish the yet-to-be-named Scholarship.
Read an interview with Jacksonville native Blythe Waters (Col ’99)
Since that first donation, the Scholarship has grown. It now has a standalone account (invested similar to the UVA Fund) separate from the Club’s general operating account; it has a Leadership Committee hard at work on governance documents, the application and selection process, and (except during covid) awards modest scholarships to local rising first-years from Jacksonville. The Committee is also endeavoring to fund raise, and as the nest egg grows to its ultimate goal, looks forward to awarding greater, more significant and impactful sums to students to make higher education possible for future Hoos from Jacksonville.
Past Winners
- 2024
- Fiona Bailey
- 2023
- Grace Huie
- 2022
- Scholarship not awarded
- 2021
- Alston Rachels
- 2020
- Sofia Marrero
- 2019
- Connor Murphy
- 2017
- Margaret (Meg) Van Cleve
- 2016
- Neely Egan
- 2015
- Anna Glassman
Student Testimonial
During my first year at UVA, I joined the Alternative Investment Fund to learn more about finance and investing in hopes of becoming a part of the comm school. I attended meetings and provided lessons and pitches to fellow members. I also joined Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope (CASH), a community-service organization that files taxes for underprivileged individuals and families in the Charlottesville community. I was the Program Director for CASH and oversee site operations, in addition to filing for clients and reviewing returns. Otherwise, I tutored refugees in English as a volunteer through the International Rescue Committee (IRC). I spent lots of my free time hanging out with friends and love to explore Charlottesville by running.
The UVA Club of Jax scholarship provided me with the funds to purchase textbooks and dorm room essentials for my first semester, as well as start the year with a confident base. Beyond monetary award, I was able to discuss the essay I wrote for the scholarship in later interviews and applications to clubs and jobs.