Photo of Sonja L Hoel Perkins
Lighting the Way
Scholarship to Aid Charlottesville-Area African American Students
The facts speak for themselves. Once enrolled at the University of Virginia, African American students tend to do quite well. According to a recent study, the University has an 86 percent graduation rate for black students -- the highest among the group of 25 top-rated public universities known as the “Public Ivies.”
Yet, across the country, college enrollment numbers for African Americans are declining. When University president John T. Casteen III brought that news to an alumni gathering in San Francisco last year, Sonja L. Hoel (McIntire ’88) took his message to heart. Ms. Hoel, the managing director of Menlo Ventures, a Bay-area venture capital firm, has created a scholarship intended to give African Americans hopeful of a college education the chance to realize their dreams.
“It’s becoming much harder for many African Americans to know if they can afford college,” Ms. Hoel says. “My thought was to create a scholarship that inspires people to think, ‘if I work hard, I might be able to go to U. Va.’ If that could get several people each year on their way to college, then it would build from there. That’s my hope.”
Sonja L. Hoel, Brief Bio
Ms. Hoel grew up in Charlottesville, graduating from Albemarle High School, so she was keenly interested in ensuring that the scholarship aid area high school students. And as the daughter of Lester A. Hoel, the L. A. Lacy Distinguished Professor of Engineering in U. Va.’s Department of Civil Engineering, she is a committed believer in the value of higher education. “My father grew up in Brooklyn and was offered a free education through scholarships at very good schools such as the City College of New York, and later Berkeley,” she says. “Now he’s a senior faculty member at U. Va. And he was able to go to school because he received help.”
The Sonja Hoel Perkins Scholarship
In order to increase her scholarship’s impact within the Charlottesville African American community, Ms. Hoel agreed to place it under the umbrella of the Jerome Holland Scholarship program. Established in 1987 to help the University compete for the most promising African American students in the country, the scholarship is awarded based upon a demonstrated, genuine interest in learning, strong academic achievement, success in extracurricular activities, and leadership. All African American students applying to U. Va. are considered for the four to seven Holland Scholarships available each year. Each scholarship is renewable for four years and currently pays $20,000 for out-of-state students and $10,000 for Virginians, annually.
Beginning in the fall of 2006, the Sonja Hoel Perkins Scholarship will provide one full four-year package covering tuition, room, board, books, and fees to an African American student from the Charlottesville area, including surrounding counties. While every African American applicant from a 40-mile radius is a potential candidate, successful applicants must excel in the areas of areas of scholarship and leadership, and also demonstrate financial need. The recipient will be selected by the Holland Program in conjunction with the Office of Admission.
“Sonja’s scholarship fits very nicely under the Holland umbrella,” says Mike Mallory, executive director of the Ron Brown Scholarship Program which includes the Holland Scholarship. “Attracting exceptional minority students is a critical component of the University's commitment to equal access and diversity. A Holland Scholarship focused on Charlottesville-area schools will provide a wonderful opportunity to strengthen ties between the University and the community.” Eventually, Ms. Hoel’s gift will fund four full scholarship packages.
Working in Silicon Valley – with its vibrant mix of races and nationalities – Ms. Hoel sees the benefits of education every day. “Education is really important for our society,” she says. “We can’t be segregated when it comes to education, there must be equal access for all.” So she sees her scholarship as adding to the range of opportunities for students who otherwise wouldn’t consider going to college at all – much less one as sought-after as U. Va.
Ms. Hoel says she draws inspiration from Eleanor Roosevelt. In his November 1962 eulogy to the former first lady before the United Nations, Adlai Stevenson said: “She would rather light candles than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world.”
“I’ve been blessed with wonderful opportunities in life,” Ms. Hoel says. “I realized that maybe you can’t solve the whole problem, but you can solve a little bit.”
