Life-changing support
$100,000 donations endow scholarships for Hispanic students
College students of Hispanic heritage from Holyoke will benefit from new scholarships established at both Holyoke Community College and Westfield State University, thanks to $100,000 gifts to each institution from Victor and Mariellen Quillard of West Springfield.
Victor Quillard, a retired president of Hampden Bank, and his wife Mariellen are both Holyoke natives and their gifts will support Hispanic residents from Holyoke who wish to pursue a college degree. The $100,000 donations were given to the Holyoke Community College Foundation and the Westfield State Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising corporations of each institution.
The gifts will establish two new endowed scholarships in the Quillards' name.
"Our community is fortunate to benefit from the Quillards' life-changing support," said Amanda Sbriscia, HCC vice president of Institutional Advancement and executive director of the HCC Foundation. "Vic and Mariellen have been dear friends of HCC through the years, and this scholarship is evidence of their belief in the potential of today's and future generations of students. As a Hispanic Serving Institution, HCC is particularly grateful for the Quillards' leadership in helping us graduate more students from underserved populations and in creating a path for students to continue their education beyond HCC."
HCC presented its first Quillard Scholarship this spring to Bethany Serrano, a Foundations of Health major from Holyoke who hopes to be an orthopedic surgeon some day.
"This scholarship holds a lot of meaning to me and will be part of my journey as I continue my studies in the medical field," Serrano wrote in a thank you letter to the Quillards. "I greatly appreciate this generous contribution and will forever be grateful."
The Victor E. and Mariellen Quillard Scholarship at HCC gives preference to Holyoke residents of Hispanic heritage who have completed a minimum of 12 credits and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.75. The Victor and Mariellen Quillard Scholarship at WSU gives preference to Holyoke residents of Hispanic heritage who transfer from HCC to Westfield State and have a minimum GPA of 2.75.
"We greatly appreciate the Quillards' generosity and their commitment to Holyoke and the Hispanic and Latino communities," said Erica Broman, vice president for Institutional Advancement at Westfield State University and executive director of the Westfield State Foundation. "The Quillard Scholarship will have a transformative impact for these transfer students from HCC who attend Westfield State for many years to come."
PHOTOS by MICHAEL GORDON: Scholarship recipients mingle with donors at HCC's annual scholarship reception on May 9, 2019.
