Washington County, OH – For many recent high school graduates, the fall semester looms around the corner. Though it may look different for this year’s incoming freshman class than it did for previous classes, it will surely be a memorable experience. However, for one student, it will be even more so.

This past spring, Marietta Community Foundation gave up to $400,000 away in scholarships to students who will be furthering their education at various institutions throughout the country. Recently, a Marietta High School graduate, Reagan Loeber, gifted her Carol Christy Scholarship to a fellow 2020 graduate, after she had received a full-ride scholarship to The Ohio State University.

This act of kindness has now inspired another student to practice the same type of generosity. Marietta High School graduate, Carli Robertson has gifted her Myra P. Berg Scholarship to one of her peers. This scholarship, valued at over $4,500, is now being awarded to Zuliedy Marquez, another graduate of Marietta High School.

Robertson and Loeber both received the Land Grant Scholarship from The Ohio State University. The two are good friends and after talking it over with one another, they determined that giving their scholarships, awarded to them through the Foundation, was a great way to serve their fellow students.

“Reagan and I talked it over and knew it would be a good thing to do,” said Robertson. “By accepting the Myra Berg Scholarship I felt like I would be taking away from other students.”

Robertson will begin her career as a Buckeye in the International Business Program on their Pre-Law track. She hopes to continue at OSU’s Moritz College of Law once she graduates with her bachelor's.

OSU’s Land Grant Scholarship covers the full cost of tuition for up to four years of a student’s undergraduate degree program. Each year, OSU awards 176 of these scholarships to students in the incoming freshman class.

Marquez, the new recipient of the Myra Berg Scholarship, will be attending Bluegrass Community Technical College in Lexington, KY to study Nursing this fall. BCTC has been her “dream school” since she was a middle-schooler.

“When I opened the scholarship letter, I was completely surprised,” said Marquez. “This means a lot and it is a huge blessing for me.”

Marietta Community Foundation works to improve Washington County through grants and initiatives, if you are inspired by Carli Robertson’s act of kindness and wish to commit an act of your own, please contact Heather Allender at 740-373-3286 or heather@mcfohio.org.