Announcing The Ward Green Scholarship for the Arts & Sciences

After some huge disappointments, lots of late night talks, and a ton of research we decided to turn a negative situation into a positive outcome for our community. We decided to start a scholarship – The Ward Green Scholarship for the Arts & Sciences.

When my husband & I married 13 years ago, we were blending a family of children aged 1-16. Together we knew that we wanted our children to have access to the world of higher education without the limits we had before us and we set a goal to pay for all of their education by any means necessary.

Praise God we were able to accomplish that for our 1^st college graduate. But we got a major shock when we were not able to help one of our younger children with their tuition. Obviously we couldn’t believe it & were very disappointed. Determined to not let that experience pull us down, we started brainstorming other things we could do with the funds we planned to use for that tuition.

We both went to college and, like many of our peers, struggled to make ends meet at times. Each of us persevered, but for different reasons.

I grew up in a family where education was & still is highly prized. In fact, my grandmother would get very upset when any of the children in the family or neighborhood decided not to go to college. She had so many long conversations with them (and their parents) about why everyone needs to get a higher education. Not all of us agree to that degree but we certainly understand & respect it.

DH, on the other hand, was determined to live & work differently than what he’d seen & experienced growing up in Small Town USA. Although he loved that life, he knew there was more out there & that education was the way to experience it.

Thinking of our backgrounds and reflecting on this situation, we dreamed up the idea of a scholarship.

We believe the arts & sciences are naturally closely intertwined and evident in the world around us.

Our goal is to help support students who want to creatively bridge the gap between art & science in practical & sustainable ways that also help serve our communities.

There is no one roadmap to doing this, so we are looking for students who have creative ideas in areas such as horticultural sciences, graphic design & computer sciences, the psychology of {interior/architectural} design, nutritional science, holistic health, etc.

These are just some of the examples of areas of study. We are open to creative ideas as demonstrated through student applications & essays. We look forward to learning more about what our future leaders can come up with!

We are ourselves a family of systems analysts who have artistically expanded our scope into interior design, web design, & gardening as we feel that these are areas that greatly impact other’s lives.

We created this scholarship to support underrepresented students interested in pursuing similar endeavors, whether through entrepreneurship, philanthropy, or a company with strong community values. The plan is to start small as we get our feet wet & build upon the scholarship year over year.

In today’s society, students are pressured to pursue one distinct path throughout their education and career, often forcing them to make a choice between areas of interest. Encouraging students to creatively bridge the gap between art and science in practical and sustainable ways that serve our communities is crucial in fostering innovation and progress.

If you or any high school or undergraduate student you know is interested in the arts & sciences and has financial need, please click here to review the criteria for the Ward Green Scholarship for the Arts & Sciences. We are currently taking applications for Fall 2024.

*Note: This scholarship is awarded twice per year, fall & spring and an application must be completed for each award period, even if the applicant has received the scholarship before. Awards have already been granted for Fall 2023 & Spring 2024.