The Jim Bowerman Scholarship

Julie and I attended the E. Lansing High School Convocation this evening where we had the wonderful opportunity to award a very special graduate with a check for $1,000 from the Jim Bowerman Memorial Fund. There were four applicants for this award and all were very deserving but this particular young lady was perfect....it was as if Jim had sent her to us. Below are the words spoken this evening:

It is a privilege to be here tonight, to present the Jim Bowerman Scholarship. This scholarship is named for my son, and for Julie's brother. Jim graduated from E. L. H. S. in 1999 – a decade ago, although it does seem like it was just yesterday. Jim passed away a year ago this past April, and that definitely feels like just yesterday. Jim was all about fun and adventure, friends and family, art and life. He was a free spirit with a gigantic heart and a tender soul. His senior quote fit him like a glove: from Mark Twain – “I never let my schooling get in the way of my education.” The criteria for this award was based solely on those attributes. The applicants for the Jim Bowerman Scholarship were very impressive and each of them qualified in their own way, but one individual, a young woman stood out, not only because she fit the criteria to a tee, but because of what she stated in her application letter….. “as a child I was a daydreamer and often wore unmatched clothes"…..that was so Jim. We would like to award this $1,000 Jim Bowerman Scholarship check to Miss Zoe Beaudry.