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A rich history...
That is yielding an even richer future.
I think my grandparents were ahead of their time in realizing that the world could be affected
through education, through people given an opportunity.
A richer future...
not just for individuals or even a family...
I want to go into oncology nursing.
but for a much larger community.
Actually I think of myself as an advocate with a law license A life of hard work and dedication
to others led Hy and Greta Berkowitz to fund a scholarship
at Grand Valley State University for students with disabilities.
The couple founded Roger's Department store in 1955
in what was then a rural area on 28th Street in Wyoming.
Roger's became one of the biggest and most successful stores in the state,
and the family operated the store for more than 50 years.
Their faith and family tradition meant the community shared in the Berkowitzes' success.
Some of it goes back I think to the Jewish tradition of Tzedakah, which is charity,
which is give back, taking care of the community.
There's another concept, Tikkun olan, which means to repair the world,
leave the world a better place than it was when you came.
The famous line my great grandmother had was, if you have two pennies
in your pocket you have one for charity.
Because no matter how tough it is for us, someone has it tougher.
At Grand Valley, eighty percent of students receive some form of financial aid.
Every year, at least 1,000 students depend on support from private scholarships.
This need is growing, which makes the example set by Hy
and Greta Berkowitz all the more meaningful today.
Before Hy and Greta left this world, they made sure through scholarships at Grand Valley
and other area colleges and universities that students
with challenges would receive some much-needed and much appreciated help.
I was discharged with a service connected disability.
My wife, myself and our three kids became homeless.
The system back then didn't set up anything to protect anyone from falling
through the net and such and we did.
The Berkowitzes were standing right under that hole with a scholarship
that helped Bill receive his bachelor's degree.
At the time I received the scholarship, we were living down in Hudsonville
in a little mobile home park, and money was very tight, my wife was working at McDonald's.
I was trying to go to school full time to try to get it done as quick as possible
and it was very, very difficult to make ends meet.
Bill Milzarski is an attorney who works for the state of Michigan in the area of disabilities.
He navigated a long and treacherous road from the military to lawyer.
He received a Grand Valley degree in Social Work with help from the Berkowitz Scholarship
and comes back to work with students.
I was very impressed that they actually set it up that way
to help out students with disabilities.
We've got enough problems in our lives and a little bit of funding to help go
to school can make quite a difference.
Junior nursing student, Carolin Ignash,
is benefiting right now from a Berkowitz Scholarship.
She has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and enrolled
in Grand Valley's disability support services when she enrolled for classes
and found out about the scholarship.
One of things about having arthritis is I'm in chronic pain everyday
and I have to do time management.
I have to decide what I'm going to spend my time doing
and how I'm going to use my joints effectively.
My main priority is getting through nursing school.
This scholarship helps me so I don't have to have a job while I'm here; so that it can pay
for my books and my excess expenses while I'm at school.
The Burkowitzes and Roger's Department Store became synonymous with generosity..
from special fishing days and shopping events for those challenged by disabilities..
to their concern for education and the future.
It's all about paying it forward and a lasting legacy
that enriches their family and the community.
Hopefully my great grandkids will someday be hearing about the Burkowitz Scholarship
because it's going to be here in perpetuity at Grand Valley.
That to me is the most incredible thing of it all.
They set up a scholarship fund that's going to be there forever.
For what I do now at the state level, I touch quite a few people daily and the policies
and procedures that I affect, just affect multitudes of state citizens.
I think they made a very good investment in investing in me to go out there
and make a difference for others.
This is a way to contribute to the future because what we're helping
when we build a scholarship is we're strengthening people who can go out
and then be a force in coming time, and they can then give more back too.
I know that with the scholarship and going through nursing that I'm going
to make a huge impact on other people's lives and I can always look back
and remember your family and know that I'm going to be a great oncology nurse someday
because of the impact that they made in my life and the support they gave me through school.
Scholarships like the one created
by the Berkowitzes help Grand Valley make a profound difference in a person's life.
Giving to scholarships is one important way for everyone to give back.
Grand Valley really is west Michigan's university.
It really belongs to us as a whole.
It's our public university.
It's really what fuels the future brain-power of West Michigan.