Portland State Magazine Spring 2015

SPRING 2015 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 21 first in her family to go to college and says her scholarship helps ease the financial pressures her parents face. “For me, as the elder child, I feel this sense of duty where I want to lessen the burden on my parents,” she says. “I don’t want my parents to help me pay for school. They shouldn’t have more burdens than they already have.” THE CREATING FUTURES campaign has reached its goal six months ahead of schedule. But the PSU Foundation continues to raise money for scholarships. The campaign reflects the fulfillment of the PSU Foundation’s broader goal of creating a culture of philanthropy at the Univer- sity. Gifts to PSU have more than tripled in four years, growing from $12.8 million in 2010 to $39.3 million in 2014. The Nancy Ryles Scholarship goes to students returning to college after their education has been interrupted. Feetham says it has helped her resume her education after attending three colleges while juggling family responsibilities, including the care of her ill father. She will graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in science and plans to begin law school in the fall. The dinner last year with Ryles’ friends and former recipients of the scholarship provided Feetham with what she hopes will be a “lasting support system,” she says. It also helped her understand the powerful long-term impact scholarships make on the students who receive them. “It was wonderful to be surrounded by other women who’ve had their education delayed and see that they’ve become successful,” she says, “and how the scholarship has allowed them to do that.”  Steve Beaven is a development writer in the PSU Foundation office. Student Claire Feetham has more time for her daughter, Guinevere, and her studies because of the Nancy Ryles Scholarship. The Vincent K. Seid, M.D., Scholarship is helping Annie Lai finance her premed studies. Photos by Jimmy Hsu.