True spirit of giving!
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Retired scientist endows scholarship at PBCC
By Kevin D. Thompson, The Palm Beach Post
November 25, 2009
BELLE GLADE
Last year, Victor Guzman was reading a newspaper article about low graduation rates among African-American males in Belle Glade.
The story detailed the low wages, high incarceration rates, meager job prospects and bleak outlook for so many black men in that western Palm Beach County community.
The article so touched the 95-year-old Guzman, it inspired the Belle Glade resident to help.
A retired agricultural research scientist at the University of Florida, Guzman donated most of his life savings — $100,000 — to establish a scholarship fund for the Palm Beach Community College Foundation.
The Lake Okeechobee Muck Rat Nation Scholarship Fund will now enable more Belle Glade residents to enroll in PBCC. The "Muck Rat Nation" refers to people who make their living in the fields within the Everglades Agricultural Area.
Applicants must be accepted by the school, be enrolled for a minimum of 12 credits per term, live in Palm Beach County, attend the Belle Glade campus and demonstrate financial need. Two $500 scholarships will be available for eligible students per semester.
"This is an incredible gift," said Suellen Mann, the foundation's executive director. "Dr. Guzman realized, having lived in Belle Glade for almost 60 years, that there were a lot of folks who didn't have the economic backing to go to school."
Guzman wasn't available to comment on his gift, but he was quoted in PBCC's newsletter as saying that "the scholarship is only a drop of water in a vast ocean of need. It is my hope that it will become a vast river of hope."
Guzman, a native of Peru, is no stranger to Belle Glade.
In 1951 he was hired by UF to help improve crop production of local farmers. For nearly 60 years, Guzman has developed chemicals for weed control as well as virus-resistant strains of lettuce that thrive in the rich, organic soil surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
He put down roots in the community as well and raised a family of five with his wife, Ruth, a teacher and librarian for 25 years at Grove Elementary School.
To this day, Guzman can still be seen working the fields and talking to plants.
"It's probably why he's 95," Mann said.
A reception to honor Guzman's donation is scheduled to be held Tuesday at PBCC's Dolly Hand Cultural Arts Center in Belle Glade.
Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Retired scientist endows scholarship at PBCC
By Kevin D. Thompson, The Palm Beach Post
November 25, 2009
BELLE GLADE
Last year, Victor Guzman was reading a newspaper article about low graduation rates among African-American males in Belle Glade.
The story detailed the low wages, high incarceration rates, meager job prospects and bleak outlook for so many black men in that western Palm Beach County community.
The article so touched the 95-year-old Guzman, it inspired the Belle Glade resident to help.
A retired agricultural research scientist at the University of Florida, Guzman donated most of his life savings — $100,000 — to establish a scholarship fund for the Palm Beach Community College Foundation.
The Lake Okeechobee Muck Rat Nation Scholarship Fund will now enable more Belle Glade residents to enroll in PBCC. The "Muck Rat Nation" refers to people who make their living in the fields within the Everglades Agricultural Area.
Applicants must be accepted by the school, be enrolled for a minimum of 12 credits per term, live in Palm Beach County, attend the Belle Glade campus and demonstrate financial need. Two $500 scholarships will be available for eligible students per semester.
"This is an incredible gift," said Suellen Mann, the foundation's executive director. "Dr. Guzman realized, having lived in Belle Glade for almost 60 years, that there were a lot of folks who didn't have the economic backing to go to school."
Guzman wasn't available to comment on his gift, but he was quoted in PBCC's newsletter as saying that "the scholarship is only a drop of water in a vast ocean of need. It is my hope that it will become a vast river of hope."
Guzman, a native of Peru, is no stranger to Belle Glade.
In 1951 he was hired by UF to help improve crop production of local farmers. For nearly 60 years, Guzman has developed chemicals for weed control as well as virus-resistant strains of lettuce that thrive in the rich, organic soil surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
He put down roots in the community as well and raised a family of five with his wife, Ruth, a teacher and librarian for 25 years at Grove Elementary School.
To this day, Guzman can still be seen working the fields and talking to plants.
"It's probably why he's 95," Mann said.
A reception to honor Guzman's donation is scheduled to be held Tuesday at PBCC's Dolly Hand Cultural Arts Center in Belle Glade.
Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
posted by Dr. Stephen L. Goldstein at 8:23 AM
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