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‘It’s such a joy to meet these kids. This is the event that always gives me hope for the future of this country,’ says mother who established scholarship to honor her deceased son

When Donna Farrell lost her son, Curtis Michael Gimeno, to leukemia in 2000, she knew she had to do something special in his memory.

“Curt was the kind of person if you needed money and he had a dollar, he’d give you his last dollar,” said Farrell.

Farrell said her son started an after-school tutoring program for Hispanic elementary school students in Rochester, N.Y., where he lived, simply because he saw a need. His motto, which became his epitaph, was “I try to live my days knowing that I positively affected someone else’s life here.”

“I wanted a lasting legacy for him,” said Farrell.

That opportunity came at Gimeno’s wake when Farrell was approached by a representative from the grocery store where her son had worked. Gimeno had taken out a $50,000 life-insurance policy through his job and named his mother the sole beneficiary.

“My immediate thought was that he wanted me to do something special with it,” said Farrell, who decided the best use for the money would be a scholarship at her alma mater to help a young writer, something she knew her son would endorse.

On Sept. 18, Farrell got to spend some time with English majors Stefanie Cochrane and Chris Dinkel, the University of Colorado Boulder students who won the Curtis Michael Gimeno Memorial Scholarship this year. The occasion was the 2014-15 Arts and Sciences Scholarship Celebration at Folsom Field.

“Helping students, it feels so good,” said Farrell. “Once a year, I feel like Curt and I are a team again.”

Among the attendees were Tom Clancy and Tessa Ward, recipients of the CU in D.C. Scholarship, funded by former U.S. Sen. and CU President Emeritus Hank Brown. Brown says the CU in D.C. scholarship fund was established to give hard-working students a little help, as well as an inside look at our nation’s Capitol.

“The CU in D.C. program has opened up an opportunity for students to understand firsthand our representative democracy,” said Brown. “The endowment assists students who are working their way through school to participate.”

Ward, a senior international affairs major, said she comes from a lower-income family and would never have been able to afford the experiences she’s had through the scholarship.

“It was the most pivotal moment in my college career,” Ward said of receiving the scholarship, which allowed her to spend about five months in Washington, D.C., learning about government and working at an internship. “I got to go to events, see speakers from the U.N. and talk to activists from other countries. That’s an experience I could never have had if I’d stayed in Boulder.”

Ward, who interned at Amnesty International’s Department of Women’s Human Rights, said she learned a lot about the topics she was already interested in, but also got some perspective on government.

“It changed my perspective somewhat,” said Ward. “I was cynical about the government before I went. I got a lot more optimistic being in D.C.”

Clancy, a political science major who minors in business, said he was unsure what he wanted to do before he received the scholarship. All that changed with the help of the CU in D.C. Scholarship.

“I didn’t know until I went out there what I wanted to do,” said Clancy. “I’d love to stay involved in politics. I think it’s fascinating how government works with businesses and the community.”

Clancy spent his time in Washington working in Sen. Mark Udall’s communication office as a photographer. He said he took classes and attended lectures by lobbyists, Senate staffers and journalists.

“It was a really diverse way of learning about a lot of things about D.C.,” said Clancy. “It was great having that kind of access.”

In today’s economy, CU-Boulder College of Arts and Sciences Dean Stephen Leigh said, scholarships like those recognized at the event are increasingly important for students facing ever-increasing debt load.

“The biggest concern in higher education today is that student loan debt is over $1.1 trillion,” said Leigh. “The concern is that a university education is becoming less and less accessible.”

And while CU’s tuition and fees are some of the lowest among peer universities, per-student funding has been cut in half during the last decade, he said. Colorado is now 49th in per-capita funding, higher only than New Hampshire.

Leslie Selcer knows how hard it can be to fund a college education. With her parents’ unable to supplement her income, she said being awarded the Joanne Easley Arnold Scholarship, which honors a top English major, has made a huge difference in her life and her future.

“It’s a big weight off my chest, having to worry less about where money is going to come from,” said Selcer. “I’ve started thinking about graduate school, which I never considered before because of the cost. Scholarships have minimized my loan debt, so it’s a real possibility now.”

And while the arts and sciences students like Selcer who receive the scholarships are happy to have the help, the donors, too, are enriched by the experience.

“It’s such a joy to meet these kids,” said Farrell. “This is the event that always gives me hope for the future of this country. I’ve never been disappointed with any of the recipients.”

Oakland Childers is a free-lance writer and editor.