Gnome Scholarship Fund Update

GNOME SCHOLARSHIP FUND REPORT FOR 2016-17

As of September 30, 2016, the Gnome Scholarship Endowment Fund’s value was $999,013, a small increase in value from the end of the previous fiscal year. We report donations from just after Founders’ Night in one year to the Founders’ Night of the current year with most donations occurring in January and February of the current year. Donations to the Scholarship Fund for 2016-2017 totaled $12,027. There was one large donation, one Gnome who made multiple donations and a total of eighteen different Gnomes making Scholarship Fund donations during this period. Both the dollar amount and number of donors is an increase over the previous period (2015-16).

Net scholarship payouts for the 2016-17 academic year total $52,024, a little higher than the previous year. The Financial Aid Office looks at the otherwise uncovered needs of incoming seniors, focusing on those whose participation in the Caltech community reflects Gnome values of service and support. The unmet needs of the identified students were high, so larger awards were once again made to two Scholars. The seniors who are Gnome Scholars for this academic year are:

Aritra Biswas

Aritra is from India and chose Caltech in part because of the opportunities to get quickly involved in research, which he did his freshman year. This member of Ricketts House is pursuing a degree in Physics. He greatly enjoys the closeness and spontaneity of the members of Ricketts. His research led him to an internship in aerospace. He is considering working in aerospace before going to graduate school. As part of his Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, he became a Student Ambassador for the SURF program. This has broadened his research experience to include meeting donors to different scholarship programs.

Stephanie Hong

Stephanie is from Michigan and will be earning a degree in Biology. A member of Lloyd House, she mentions the House’s annual ski trip as one highlight of her House experience. She hoped to enjoy both research and collaboration at Caltech and those hopes have been thoroughly realized. She especially has learned a lot about research and collaboration in Dr. Bronner’s lab. She also has been active in several clubs and participates in many campus activities. She wants to go to medical school and pursue both clinical work and medical research.

On behalf of these scholars, the Gnome Board says THANK YOU ALL FOR INCLUDING THE GNOME SCHOLARSHIP FUND IN YOUR GIVING!

ARCHIVE FUND REPORT

During the last Gnome Club fiscal year, five Gnomes contributed $327 to the Archive Fund. We will be working with the Caltech Archive staff to determine the current amount in the Gnome Archive Fund.