A sister act
November 15, 2016Sarah Coville and Emily Zoulek
Sisters Sarah Coville and Emily Zoulek know firsthand the impact a scholarship can have. Both graduated from Newaygo High School and received scholarships from the Community Foundation.
“It’s great to have that help and support from the community,” said Emily. “It helped me a ton.”
Emily is now a doctor in Minnesota. Sarah is a psychologist who works with children and young adults in Grand Rapids and Newaygo County. As they built their careers, the sisters remembered the support they received as they started out.
“I called my sister and said, ‘what do you think about creating a scholarship?’” said Sarah. “It wasn’t even a big discussion. We just decided to do it. We could have spent the money elsewhere I guess, but we’re simple people, we’re not extravagant. We’re happy in our professions, we like what we do, and we’re in a position to give back, so why not help?”
“Scholarships helped me get where I am,” added Emily. “And now we can help others.”
Using the Community Foundation’s Build-A-Fund program, Sarah and Emily created the Coville Scholarship. With the fund minimum now met, the first scholarship will be awarded in 2017 to a Newaygo graduate pursuing a career in mental or physical health.
“We wanted it to go to someone from our high school going into a similar field,” explained Sarah.
“There are always going to be jobs in the medical field,” said Emily. “I hope the scholarship truly helps someone achieve what they want and gives them that extra push to keep going.”
