{"id":4967,"date":"2025-11-15T15:47:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T15:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4967"},"modified":"2026-01-15T15:49:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T15:49:18","slug":"12th-annual-siu-scholarship-dinner-celebrates-generosity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4967","title":{"rendered":"12th annual SIU Scholarship Dinner celebrates generosity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FtzVkgILBaE?si=Sh9wAudCbxBu4dd2\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">T<\/span>he 12th Annual SIU Scholarship Dinner on Nov. 7 brought together more than 230 donors and scholarship recipients at the SIU Student Center ballrooms to celebrate the transformative power of philanthropy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Hosted by the SIU Foundation, the evening highlighted stories of gratitude and achievement as students shared how donor support opened doors, eased financial burdens and inspired them to dream bigger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Chancellor Austin A. Lane thanked donors for their unwavering commitment to student success. \u201cYour dollars are going toward a fantastic group of students,\u201d Lane said. \u201cYou are shaping the future through your generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">SIU Foundation Board President Dan Korte welcomed guests and led an engaging conversation with Michelle Montano, a zoology and pre-veterinary student whose journey exemplifies the impact of scholarships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Montano, a fourth-year student from northern Illinois, received the William C. Hill Zoology Scholarship, which she says changed her life. Before the award, Montano faced financial challenges while pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian. The scholarship allowed her to focus on academics and hands-on research instead of worrying about making ends meet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">\u201cAt first, I didn\u2019t believe that I received it,\u201d Montano said. \u201cI remember calling my mom, especially since I was struggling with finding a job at the time. It lifted a burden for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">The relief extended to her family. Montano\u2019s mother works three jobs while caring for a younger brother with autism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\u201cWhen we found out, my mom felt so relieved,\u201d Montano said. \u201cShe could focus on my younger brother, and it gave me independence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">After graduating in May, Montano plans to attend veterinary school and specialize in zoological medicine, working with exotic animals in zoos or conservatories. She also hopes to study feline sciences, focusing on rare diseases in kittens.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\u201cKindness goes a long way,\u201d Montano said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m able, I want to change someone\u2019s life the way donors changed mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The William C. Hill Zoology Scholarship was established by William Hill, a 1942 SIU graduate whose education launched a distinguished career in public service. His gift continues to inspire students like Montano to pursue their dreams.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">As Korte told attendees, \u201cKeep doing what you\u2019re doing. It is helping people like Michelle so much in their life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 12th Annual SIU Scholarship Dinner on Nov. 7 brought together more than 230 donors and scholarship recipients at the SIU Student Center ballrooms to celebrate the transformative power of philanthropy. Hosted by the SIU Foundation, the evening highlighted stories of gratitude and achievement as students shared how donor support opened doors, eased financial burdens &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4967\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">12th annual SIU Scholarship Dinner celebrates generosity<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,16,3,4,9,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donor-stories","category-events-engagement","category-higher-education","category-illinois-higher-education","category-scholarship-recipient","category-siu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4968,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967\/revisions\/4968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}