Foundation Scholarships

Blugold Promise-Salvatore Rappa

$500 award for first year, second year renewal at $1,000.

The Salvatore Rappa Blugold Promise Scholarship shall be awarded to an outstanding incoming freshman student who has graduated from high school in Wisconsin, been accepted for admission to UW-Eau Claire and demonstrates significant financial need as initially reported by the students and verified by the UW-Eau Claire Financial Aid Office. First preference would be given to a student who is interested in becoming a special education teacher. To be considered, students must rank in the top 25% of their graduating classes and have a minimum of a 25 composite on the Act (or comparable SAT), have a well- rounded high school record of academic achievement, leadership and involvement in extracurricular activities. In general a student who has a zest for life and a desire to get the most out of his/her college education will receive primary consideration. Recipients who have a successful freshman year and maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 by the end of their first year will receive a $1,000 scholarship their sophomore year.

To be considered for Incoming Freshman Student Admissions Scholarships, just submit the application for admission. There is no separate application to apply, though demonstration of financial need is required for certain merit-based scholarships. Your application for admission will be considered for all scholarships for which you are eligible. If you have questions, please contact the Admissions Office at (715)836-5415.

The Admissions Office will coordinate the selection process, which is highly competitive. The process is based off of the student’s admissions profile including: transcripts, academic history, list of involvements and essays. These are among the criteria that will be reviewed for scholarship purposes.

Screening of candidates will begin in December for some early awards and continue through the spring or until awards are accepted.

Scholarship award notices will be sent to scholarship recipients by the beginning of April of student’s senior year. If scholarships are declined, they will be re- awarded to alternates through the summer months.

Mary Jo Quinn was raised in a large family in Madison, Wisconsin. From a very early age she wanted to be a special education teacher. When she was 13, she became a volunteer at the State Institution in Madison and met Salvatore Rappa. Sal was a non-verbal young boy with Down’s syndrome in a ward of many other children, getting very little individual attention. Mary Jo could see that he was curious, determined, and spirited. During high school Mary Jo saw Sal every week and when she went off to college at UW Eau Claire to become a special education teacher, she would visit Sal as much as possible when she came back home to Madison. Sal always recognized Mary Jo and was thrilled to escape his surroundings when she visited. Sal died when he was 13 on the very day that Mary Jo received her first job offer to be a special education teacher. After graduating from UW Eau Claire, Mary Jo was a special education teacher for seven years in Loyal, Wisconsin and Littleton, Colorado. She is now an Investment Attorney for Allstate Insurance Company. Thirty-five years after getting to know Salvatore Rappa as a volunteer, Mary Jo still has his picture in her office. With six children in her family, everyone who wanted a college education or an advanced degree had to work to pay for it. She understands how stressful it can be to work and study at the same time. She chose to support this scholarship in order to provide the opportunity for a student to spend more time participating in his or her college experience, studying, and having fun! The recipient should address a thank-you letter to Mary Jo Quinn, in care of the UW-Eau Claire Foundation Office, Schofield 214.