麻豆传媒团队

June 10, 2023
Life After Witt

Epitome of Light

Evelyn Jones 鈥84 offers $5,000 challenge to match donations to Crystal T. Scott Scholarship Fund

Alumni Board member Evelyn Jones '84 is on a mission to honor the impact of the late biology major Crystal Scott '82. The recipient of Wittenberg鈥檚 Martin Luther King Award and charter member of the first black sorority at Wittenberg, Delta Sigma Theta, Scott passed away from an aggressive form of bone cancer a few months after graduating from her beloved alma mater.

鈥淐rystal was a model in resilience," Jones said. "She was the epitome of having the light and passing it on...She was doing it all. She was determined to graduate from Wittenberg."

Jones wasn鈥檛 the only one inspired by Scott鈥檚 persistence and optimism. Rosalind DuBose 鈥82 recalls, 鈥淲hile at Wittenberg, Crystal was such an amazingly positive young woman. I marveled at her tenacity, perseverance, and strength as she encountered her health challenges. Crystal maintained a steadfast commitment to education, which allowed her to complete the coursework necessary to graduate from Wittenberg in 1982.鈥

The biology department also supported Crystal with the late Professor of Biology Dave Mason especially looking out for her.

"He helped her when she went to the hospital, and he was there when she died," Jones shared.

Today Crystal's legacy lives on in a scholarship bearing her name. Established by friends and relatives, the scholarship is given to a sophomore or junior African-American woman who demonstrates a concern for public service as evidenced through her campus and/or community involvement and leadership.

Jones recently learned that $10,000 was needed to fund the full endowment level, so she offered a $5,000 matching challenge during this year's #Commit2Witt. Now she is asking others to join her in making this scholarship possible for a student who may have significant financial need and, in Crystal's spirit, "someone that changes things in the world."

鈥淪he was my sorority sister and my friend,鈥 DWana 鈥淒ee鈥 Filey Davis 鈥82 said. 鈥淪he had a loyalty to those she held close and an indomitable spirit. Her loss is something that I still carry with me to this day. The memory of Crystal T. Scott lives on with each winning recipient of the scholarship. Donate to honor her memory and her legacy.鈥

To make a gift, please visit /ScottScholarship.

In order to continue honoring the life of Crystal T. Scott and provide Wittenberg students with the opportunity to receive this scholarship, Evelyn Jones will match up to $5,000 for any donations made to this scholarship.

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About Wittenberg

Wittenberg's curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, Wittenberg has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, Wittenberg offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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