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shrewd investment combine toward a noble goal of affordable education for all ,” says Chernow . “ The scholarship at Harvard sends about 40-50 students to school every year .”
Chernow believes her grandfather ’ s legacy gives opportunity to the brightest students in the state to attend a university that is highly respected . Her wish is to see these students then return to West Virginia and give back to the state just as her grandfather did .
“ The hope is for more people to emulate William Joseph Maier , Jr ., a poor boy from Huntington who had the greatest nine years of education money could buy when he had no money ,” says Chernow . “ He came back to West Virginia , passed the bar and started his legal career at Steptoe & Johnson . He never forgot where he came from and what it took to get him those precious years at Harvard and Oxford .”
The income from the fund is awarded to individuals who gain acceptance to and plan to attend Harvard with financial need . The students ’ eligibility is determined by their FAFSA application , mostly surrounding household income and assets . Should a student not receive a Maier Scholarship , they may instead receive other named scholarships out of Harvard depending on their focus of study and what scholarship monies most aptly apply to their need or situation .
“ Once a student gains acceptance to Harvard , the financial aid department there divvies out the scholarships in the fall when students matriculate ,” says Chernow . “ Thus , Maier Scholars are officially announced in the fall semester . Because Harvard invests the funds and the financial aid office at Harvard determines who the recipients are , we at the Maier Foundation have nothing to do with the choice of the students receiving the funds .”
According to Chernow , any need-based student from West Virginia or Ohio who is accepted at Harvard is likely to become a Maier Scholar if their funds do not come from other more specific scholarships awarded by Harvard .
“ My grandfather intended for awards being made from the income of the fund , all other considerations being equal , be given in such a way that preference would be granted to students from the states of West Virginia and Ohio ,” says Chernow . “ The hope is that these awards might enable educational opportunities and inspire more academic achievement in the state . Students who might not otherwise have considered applying to Harvard due to thinking they wouldn ’ t be able to afford it might think again when considering that preference to West Virginia and Ohio students .”
There have been many successful West Virginia recipients of the scholarship over the years , including former president of Concord University Dr . Jerry Beasley . More recently , Ryan Donovan — born and raised in Mingo County — received the scholarship , graduated from Harvard in 2007 and now works as a lawyer in Charleston .
“ The Maier Foundation made Harvard an easy choice ,” says Donovan , a class action litigation attorney at Bailey & Glasser LLP . “ Otherwise , I would ’ ve been faced with deciding whether to burden myself with debt or take a safer option somewhere else .”
As for returning to the state after graduation , the decision was simple for Donovan . “ I enjoyed my time in Cambridge , and my work takes me all over the country , but I have never been able to imagine living a life anywhere else ,” he says . “ It is often said that West Virginians are loyal , but I don ’ t think that ’ s fair to West Virginia . I didn ’ t come back here out of a sense of loyalty but because , objectively , I think it ’ s a wonderful place to have a career and raise a family .”
At the end of the day , when a West Virginia high school student sets the goal to attend Harvard University , that student ’ s life is changed forever , even if they never step foot in Cambridge . Chernow is proud of her grandfather ’ s legacy of inspiring these kinds of goals among the state ’ s youth and is determined to encourage more students to dream big .
“ I believe students can aim higher , seek out support from their teachers and counselors to learn more about what it takes to prepare a student for Harvard and know that by aiming higher and breaking their goals down into doable steps , they are likely to achieve higher ,” says Chernow . “ Even if they don ’ t get into Harvard , my guess is that a student who prepares themselves for Harvard will end up with other benefits along the way and will still gain attendance or scholarships to a quality school to reach their ultimate goals in life .”
Of all the things West Virginia needs right now , the most important is a generation of dreamers that isn ’ t afraid to set goals and succeed . Thanks to William Joseph Maier , Jr . and his vision to help put Ivy League higher education in reach of West Virginia ’ s youth , the future is a little brighter . •
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