Vira I. Heinz walked through the University of Pittsburgh’s front door with a check in her hand for $1,000. She handed the money to the man at the front desk, commanding him to, “Give this to a girl who wants to travel.” Despite the seemingly random nature of this act, for Heinz, this was the culmination of years of her own experiences. This story came from Pat Bristor,associate dean of students, who spoke at a recent informational session regarding the Vira I. Heinz Scholarship for Women in Global Leadership.

The next information session is Thursday, Sept 21 at noon and 4 p.m. in Stover 303.

Heinz was always an independent woman, according to “Vira’s Young Ladies” by Brian Connelly, from the Heinz Endowments’ website Heinz.org. When she married into the Heinz family, she was already 44 years old, having lived much of her life as her own woman. She was married to her husband, Clifford, for three years before his death from pneumonia. Following this, she never remarried. Instead, she filled her time managing the wealth she had received, as a widow bearing the Heinz name, and directing it towards numerous charitable causes.

The article continued the story. By the time she reached 70, she was an accomplished traveler. She had been to Europe on many occasions, and influenced by her friend, the University of Pittsburgh’s dean of women, Helen Rush, she decided to write that $1,000 check for one special young woman, who would make the most of her trip. This repeated year after year, until the program began to expand.

Now, Bristor explained, the Vira I. Heinz Scholarship is offered at 14 different schools, including Waynesburg University, though the program has somewhat changed after its conception. Initially, the scholarship was used solely for travel. Now, according to Bristor, the program allows young women to study abroad, over their summer, offering six credits to anyone who accepts.

Bristor said the program has changed over time to become leadership oriented, aiming to inspire women to become active global citizens who are invested in civic engagement.

Waynesburg senior Sadie Mink is one of these women, who chose to live in Rome, Italy. Before this scholarship, she had never been out of the country, but on the advice of program coordinator Bristor, she chose to apply. In describing how the experience affected her, she had many things to say.

In terms of her spiritual life, Mink said she was able to grow through living in the local Catholic culture, which broadened her horizons.

She said she also grew in her own self-reliance, through living in a foreign culture, and having to make her own decisions. Finally, she was able to improve her craft as a businesswoman and photographer, taking classes in photojournalism to foster her skills.

The scholarship is available to the sophomore and junior women in the Waynesburg community that plan on staying for the next year. The program gives a $5,000 scholarship to three winners, which increases to $6,000 if the chosen destination is somewhere other than western Europe. The program is also tied in with the Pell grant, meaning the size of the scholarship is proportional to the size of the financial aid received by the winners. According to Bristor, the aid received regularly reaches above the $8,000 mark. In addition, Bristor, who has spent nearly 30 years coordinating the scholarship, has seen extra unfilled slots gifted to Waynesburg almost every year she has been involved. In the recent past, the university has received four, five and even six extra slots for students to fill.

According to Bristor, nearly all of the women who have taken this opportunity have returned elated by their experiences. The very reason she has coordinated the program for so many years is because she sees the quality of the experience, how the recipients return confident, self-reliant and inspired by their experiences abroad.

In addition to all of this, the program allows travel to nearly any country, and while there, allows for unique opportunities. One woman chose to work with elephants, while another worked with sea turtles on a catamaran, in the Caribbean. Any woman who commits to the scholarship must pay it forward through working with new candidates and managing a project of her own creation. For example, one group of students, on their return, hosted a cultural fair on campus, while another group held an environmental conservation forum for students. 

Waynesburg University is accepting applications until Nov. 1. and there are plenty of resources here to learn more.

For more information, contact Pat Bristor at: Pbristor@waynesburg.edu