The Portland Alumnae Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi is very proud to announce the Roma Whiznant Scholarship to rising Sophomores at Alpha Rho who exhibit leadership qualities. The timeline for applying for the scholarship is as follows:
February 2018: Application packets emailed to collegiates at Alpha Rho/Oregon State University
March 2018: Recipient selected.
May 2018: Recipient announced at Alpha Rho's "Senior Transition to Alumnae Status" event at the chapter house in Corvallis.
How we got here:
July 2015: Scholarship funds were labeled "unclaimed property" by the State of Oregon since they had been in a mutual fund since 1989 when the Alpha Sigma Chapter at the University of Oregon closed. An alumna informed the Portland Alumnae Chapter about the status of the funds.
November 2015: Paperwork submitted to State of Oregon to claim funds for the Portland Alumnae Chapter. Since we are the only alumnae chapter in Oregon, we stated that we would disperse the funds to the only collegiate chapter in Oregon, Alpha Rho.
January 2016: Notified by the State of Oregon that we successfully claimed the funds.
November 2016: Funds deposited in Fidelity Investments. Our goal is to grow the funds through investment as well as through donations from alumnae.
April 2017: Alpha Rho chapter notified of scholarship application process
May 2017: Announcement of the recipient of the Roma Whiznant Scholarship
September 2017: $1000 deposited in Billhighway to cover AOII house bill expenses
"The Portland Alumnae Chapter of AOII is proud to announce the 1st year of the re-established Roma Whiznant Scholarship. Thanks to funds that were preserved after the closure of the Alpha Sigma chapter in 1989, the Portland Alumnae Chapter, the only AOII alumnae chapter in Oregon, was able to restore this scholarship that so lovingly was chartered by Alpha Sigma alum, Roma Whiznant. In the late 1920’s, Roma was an integral member of Alpha Sigma, holding offices of Secretary, Treasurer, and President, and Corporation Board while continuing campus involvement in W.A.A. and Women’s League affairs as well as holding a part time job as secretary to the Dean of Physical Education. After graduation, Roma was elected the “AOII Pacific Northwest Alumnae Superintendent of Portland and Seattle Regions.” It is with great pride that we honor her wishes by continuing to award the Roma Whiznant Scholarship to qualified Alpha Omicron Pi sisters.
This past spring, we were honored to award the Roma Whiznant Scholarship of $1000 to Kristen Spielman, an incoming Junior at Alpha Rho at Oregon State. It was evident in her application that Kristen aspires to make scholarship, leadership, and AOII her college priorities. After graduation, Kristen hopes to go on to become an optometrist and use her skills help other less fortunate.
As we begin a new school year, the Portland Alumnae Chapter looks forward to another opportunity to help our young, collegiate sisters. We ask you to consider donating to the Roma Whiznant Scholarship fund while paying tribute to an amazing alum who modeled for us true leadership and loyalty to Alpha Omicron Pi.
Roses,
Portland Alumnae Scholarship Committee
