Memorial Scholarship Will Help First-Generation Students Become Social Workers
SALISBURY, MD---Good fortune brought Eileen Gilheany and James Forte to Salisbury University.
The husband-and-wife duo and faculty in SU’s School of Social Work found a home in Salisbury and proudly show their support for the campus, lauding its dedicated faculty and staff.
“We love SU. We love being here. We think it’s a great community,” Forte said.
“There are some parts of SU that are so special that we give our financial support to show how much we appreciate them,” Gilheany said.
As New York natives, they are traditionally enthusiastic supporters of the arts and theatre at SU, which they believe is a hidden gem. They also have supported SU Libraries and the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture. This year, however, they found a new way to leave a lasting impact.
Together, the couple established the Anne and John Gilheany Scholarship in memory of Eileen’s parents. “It was Jim’s idea,” Gilheany said. “Isn’t that just wonderful?”
“The Gilheanys were very caring for other people, especially those who were vulnerable,” Forte said. “John and I were very close. I have such a vivid memory of him saying how proud he was of Eileen, her accomplishments, her degree and that she was teaching. And Anne was the gentlest person you’d ever meet.”
“And fun and sophisticated,” Gilheany added. “My parents were like your neighbors, kind and dependable. If people needed care, they were there for them.”
Her father was an Irish immigrant who worked as a milkman and afternoon school bus driver. The two fondly remember how the Gilheanys looked after Eileen’s uncle who had Alzheimer’s every week. When they visited him in the nursing home, they would spend time with other people who had no visitors.
Believing that care is a central value of the social work profession, Gilheany and Forte felt it would be most meaningful to honor her parents with a social work scholarship. It will provide $1,000 each year to a first-generation student in the social work major to help them care for others as the Gilheanys did.
“We have so many students who are first-generation college students or have family traumas and difficulties,” Forte said. “I thought it was a natural place, and I think the Gilheanys would be pleased with that. They believed in Eileen and what we did.”
Forte himself is the first in his family to earn a college degree. He recalls receiving scholarships and still having to work in the summers to afford his tuition. Without scholarships, he would have found it difficult to pursue his doctorate. Both Forte and Gilheany are no strangers to hard work and know that for some students, an education is much harder to come by.
“School is hard enough, but if you’re also waitressing at night, even an extra $100 is huge,” Gilheany said. “Those are the people we wanted to support,” Forte agreed.
Gilheany and Forte hope to be good role models for others to consider a donation to SU. Whether it’s to support facilities such as the Bobbi Biron Theatre or to honor a loved one with a scholarship that could change the life of a student, they believe every gift matters.
“We support organizations that we believe make a difference,” the couple said in a statement about their endowment. “SU does. We have seen, and continue to see every day, how SU contributes to the growth of so many people and social systems. We are proud to give to the SU Foundation and contribute in our small way to SU’s many successes.”
Join the We Are SU campaign or email the SU Foundation, Inc. at ahwaters@salisbury.edu to learn more about scholarship endowments.