By Jeff Wilson

Drs. Dan Elkins and Amelia Noël-Elkins are uniquely aware of the obstacles facing college students.

Dan, a 1993 SIU graduate, is the associate vice president for academic fiscal management at Illinois State University, and Amelia is the associate provost at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Together, they established the Elkins Student Support Scholarship within SIU’s College of Health and Human Sciences. The fund provides financial support to current students, particularly to those seeking an internship to advance their career experience.

“One of the big motivations for this was to help students who aren’t as fortunate, who do not have support in place,” Dan said.

While many scholarships are directed toward incoming students, both Dan and Amelia thought it was important to aid students who are already on their higher education journey.

“Sometimes we don’t openly acknowledge the fact that it’s almost harder to retain a student than it is to recruit them,” Amelia said. “The scholarship had to focus on helping students who might be facing a few hiccups along the way, might have a few roadblocks to be able to get over that hump and complete their degree.”

Many students, especially in the College of Health and Human Sciences, take on internships to gain valuable work experience and advance their education. Some of these internships last months and are unpaid.

“It was very intentional to make sure that the fund could be used for internships also to make sure students could advance their network and could be able to have professional opportunities and growth. We all know that sometimes internships lead to that first job.”

Dan’s father, Dr. Donald Elkins, worked at SIU as a professor of plant and soil sciences in the College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences. He established the college’s well-known Agbassadors program, and each year a faculty member is awarded the Donald M. Elkins Excellence Award. Donald Elkins passed away in 2013.

Dan was born and raised in Carbondale and earned a bachelor’s degree in recreation from the College of Health and Human Sciences in 1993. He then earned a master’s and doctoral degree from Indiana University.

“My dad was someone who knew what he wanted to do his whole life,” Dan said. “I, on the other hand, did not have a clear idea of what I wanted to do. I changed my major four times. It took me a long time to finish. My experience was a struggle of sorts, trying to find that direction. At SIU, I had tremendous support … so many people helped me. Many students do not have the support or resources that I did. We hope this gift affords students the opportunity to stay in school as they find their path.”

Amelia and Dan met while at Indiana University, and both have gone on to successful careers in higher education.

“I’m a Saluki by marriage,” Amelia said. “As we’ve become more engaged with the SIU community, I have been able to see the legacy that Dan and his dad have had at SIU.”

To learn more about making a similar impact, visit siuf.org.