Dear NSHSS Parent:
I would like to introduce myself to you and bring you some exciting news about The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS). Recently, NSHSS established a Parent Council to help build awareness, establish scholarships, and facilitate networking among parents of NSHSS. Mr. Nobel has asked me to chair the Council and I am pleased and humbled to accept.
As a mother of an NSHSS member, one of my main passions is education. As parents, we provide the strength, the roots for the next generation. It is our responsibility to nurture, with our time and resources. As a community leader and business person, I realize how important it is to prepare the next generation to take its place.
I am pleased to announce the appointments of our Regional Chairs who join me in this effort. Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Rhode Island, serves as Regional Co-Chair of the Northeast. She is the mother of member Spencer Pasquerella Kuchle, and accompanied her son on our NSHSS Australian Adventure. Deborah Dworsky of Edison, New Jersey, mother of member Sarah Anne Lutes, also has agreed to serve as Northeastern Regional Co-Chair and has volunteered at several scholar member events. Vicki Johnson, Publicist, of Leander, Texas has agreed to serve as Southern Regional Co-Chair, and is mother of NSHSS member Jacqueline. Joining her as Southern Regional Co-Chair is James Vaseff, AIA, of Georgia Power's Community & Economic Development Department, and father of NSHSS member Julie. Rick Salomon, esq., CEO of Vantage Point Consultants and resident of Glencoe, Illinois, is joining the Parent Council as the Midwest Regional Chair. His son Mark Salomon is a 2007 Claes Nobel Academic Scholarship Recipient and a new member of the NSHSS Student Council. You may participate in the Parent Council in numerous ways including volunteering with fundraising efforts, member events, relationship building, focus groups, and serving as leadership ambassadors. We are also interested in your opinions and priorities. I hope you have been receiving and reading the monthly updates. Please read more about the Parent Council in our October newsletter.
In closing, during this holiday season, I am pleased to write to ask for your support of The National Society of High School Scholars Foundation. Each of our regional chairs has committed an annual gift of at least $1,000. The mission of the Foundation is to support education in the form of scholarships targeted to females and underrepresented minorities who express interest in STEM career majors—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. We wish to contribute to this effort to steer students to become qualified workers in these areas in order to improve the quality of life for all.
Please join us as we support scholarly students who have achieved significant strides in their academic lives. Please print out the donation form and mail your gift. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you.
Fostering Success through Education,
Mary Blankenship Pointer
National Parent Council Chair