BRADFORD—The UVM Foundation now offers the Margaret Jenkins Pratt Scholarship to Bradford women studying at the University of Vermont.
In 2018, Harriet Pratt Peterson, a 1952 UVM graduate, worked with the foundation to establish the scholarship in honor of her mother, Margaret Pratt, who also attended UVM, according to an article on the UVM Foundation’s website.
The scholarship fund currently contains $1 million, according to the same UVM Foundation article.
The first recipient of the scholarship is Jessie Daigle, who will graduate later this year and is studying communication sciences in hopes of becoming a speech language pathologist.
Daigle had been unaware that the Pratt Scholarship even existed until February 2020, when she received an email from the university informing her that the scholarship had been awarded to her.
In a follow-up email from the UVM Foundation, Daigle learned that the scholarship was established in honor of Margaret Pratt, who spent her entire life in Bradford and whose children wanted to give other women from Bradford the same opportunities that she enjoyed.
“It was a pretty big scholarship, and then the pandemic hit,” Daigle said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do for money over the summer, so it was a pretty huge blessing and definitely a welcome surprise.”
According to Oxbow High School Principal Jean Wheeler, high school students from Bradford do not apply for the scholarship when they choose UVM. Instead, the UVM Foundation chooses a female UVM student who hails from Bradford to be the scholarship’s recipient.
The UVM Foundation invited Wheeler to give feedback on the scholarship when it was in development, and Oxbow High School gives information on the scholarship to students who may be eligible. The rest of the process is up to the foundation, Wheeler said.
Wheeler expressed gratitude to the Pratt family for establishing the scholarship. “It’s a great opportunity and the community should thank the Pratts over and over again,” Wheeler said.
“As we all know, college is expensive, and this opens up the door for many students who may not have even considered UVM.”
Daigle discussed her gratitude to the Pratt family as well.
“It spans generations,” Daigle said. “Margaret Pratt graduated from UVM in the 1920s, and knowing that someone from Bradford also went to UVM, and almost a hundred years after she graduated, is still able to give back to those of us who are at UVM, is a really cool circle of life.”
Both Daigle and Wheeler hope that the Pratt Scholarship will have a positive impact on the Bradford community as a whole.
“I think it could be really helpful. A lot of people go to UVM because it’s one of the cheaper options through in-state tuition, but even with that, it can still be pretty expensive,” Daigle said. “It’s a pretty big scholarship, so it can definitely help out some of the women around here.”
“When students, particularly in this case female students, are experiencing community members providing resources that will allow for stronger equity, it sets the stage for an overall culture, and I think that’s key to change,” Wheeler said. “In the long run, the acknowledgment and the advocacy for young women is a positive thing and will lead to positive change for sure.”
Neither Harriet Pratt Peterson nor the UVM Foundation could be reached for comment.
To view published article in the Journal Opinion, click here.
