Portland State Magazine Fall 2010

Twenty years of new beginnings WRITTEN BY MEG DESCAMP "GOING BACK TO COLLEGE was a very tough decision," says Sue House '98, MEd '99, reflecting on her decision to attend PSU in rhe mid- l 990s. Thirty years old at the time, House was supporting herself and her two children on a recep– tionist's salary. "The fact that someone was willing to invest money in me to go to school was a huge support." That support came from the Nancy Ryles Endowed Scholar– ship Fund, and it covered tuition and fees as House earned a bachelor's degree in biology. She went on to earn a master's in education and has taught science at Portland's Madison High School for 11 years. This fall on the 20th anniversary of the Ryles Scholarship, Harrie Justesen becomes rhe most recent scholar. She's a single mother whose college career was interrupted more than 10 years ago. She plans to pursue a double major in business management and human resources. "Ir's an honor to be part of such an incredible group of women," says Justesen. The lives of returning women students are changed through the Nancy Ryles Scholarship. I N JULY 19 9 0, Nancy Ryles learned that a fast-growing brain tumor would rake her life within months. The former state legislator was rhen serving as the first woman member of rhe Oregon Public Utilities Board. Three of her close friends-Joan Johnson '78, Leslie Emery, and Jean Morron-wanted to create a lasting tribute to Ryles, somerhing rhat would reflect her commitment to education and women. They came up with the idea of an endowed scholarship. Ryles suggested rhat the scholarship be for women whose college education had been interrupted, and rhat it be estab– lished at PSU to serve women in the metro area. The scholar– ship was announced at PSU on September 10, 1990, and Ryles died two days later at the age of 52. IN THEIR FIRST meetingwirh PSU administrators, Johnson, Emery, and Morron announced rheir intention to raise $250,000 to endow the scholarship. What rhey raised instead were eyebrows. "We had no cash in hand, but we did Hattie Justesen (right) is planning a new life for herself and her daughter, Angelique, with the financial help and inspiration of the Ryles Scholarship. have experience fund-raising for Nancy's political campaigns. Clearly, this was not rhe usual way to set up an endowment," remembers Johnson. But rhey proved they could do it. Twenty years later, rhe fund stands at more than $710,000, wirh the vast majority of rhat money coming in small donations-anywhere from $5 to $150. It is now PSU's largest endowed scholarship that is funded primarily by grassroots donations. The true measure of the scholarship's value is how many women it has assisted. Since 1991, 28 women have been Ryles Scholarship winners and 23 have completed rheir bachelor's degrees. The scholarship provides complete tuition support for up to four years of undergraduate study, and it's renewable so long as students complete at least 36 credit hours in a year and maintain a 3.0 GPA. The fund has provided nearly 53 school year's worth of sup– port-in dollar terms rhis is well over $265,000. And while rhe financial assistance is important, Johnson says, "Time and time again, Ryles scholars have said rhe fact rhat people believed in rhem and saw their potential has inspired rhem to achieve rheir goals." That's exactly what Nancy Ryles wanted. ■ To support the Nancy Ryles Scholarship Fund visit www.pdx.edu/g1ving or call 503-725-4911 FALL 2010 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 23