Each summer, the Falmouth Road Race is one of the premiere athletic events in New England. Once again, members of the BSU community will be running its seven miles for a good cause.
This year, among the famed race’s 11,000 runners will be members of Team BSU, who are raising money for the Student Emergency Fund and Gamma Phi Beta Scholarship. The latter supports undergraduate women who have shown a commitment intellectual and personal growth, as well as service to humanity.
This year’s goal is $10,000; the team has already collected $8,000, and is looking for help crossing the finish line.
Jon Jerome, ’83, of Weymouth is part of the eight-member Team BSU, and he spoke about the importance of the Student Emergency Fund.
“I know how it is to be in college, and you’re working hard toward that degree and the littlest thing can throw you off,” he said.
The Gamma Phi Beta Scholarship for Undergraduate women was created in honor of the partnership between BSU and Gamma Phi Beta Sorority Inc., which dates to more than a quarter century ago. One of the guiding principles of the sorority is to promote a lifelong commitment to intellectual and personal growth and service to humanity.
“It is because of that lifelong commitment that the alumnae and collegiate members of the Bridgewater State University Gamma Phi Beta chapter are working to endow a scholarship that will recognize and honor undergraduate women who share that same personal guiding principle with financial support,” said Maribeth Flakes, associate director of student affairs and enrollment management. “Gamma Phi Beta seeks to create confident women of character and it is the desire of our sisterhood to help provide financial assistance to undergraduate women seeking to achieve their educational goals.”
Joining Mr. Jerome and Ms. Flakes on the team are Tori Binda, Ed Cabellon, Tricia Gordon, Maureen Johnson, Reid Kimball and David Offutt. They represent a mix of alumni, employees, a current student and the parent of a student. The team has been working for months raising money.
Mr. Jerome is a network engineer and a regular runner. When asked if he’d run Falmouth for his alma mater, he jumped at the chance to participate in a great annual Cape event while at the same time helping current and future BSU students.
“This is right up my alley,” he said. (Story by John Winters, G’11, University News & Media).
