“Redefining Potential” is the theme of the new Hogan Family Scholarship Fund at the 威尼斯人娱乐城.
It’s a subject Nate Hogan knows well, because it’s essentially the story of his life.
Hogan serves as chair of the 密苏里州堪萨斯城公立学校 (KCPS) Board of Education. He and his wife, Felecia, endowed the fund to support KCPS graduates of color who enroll in the 威尼斯人娱乐城 亨利w布洛赫管理学院. Hogan持有the Bloch School的工商管理硕士学位。
His route to a master’s degree was hardly a typical one; that road began with his decision to drop out of his Florida Keys high school in 10th grade (the only year he lived outside of Kansas City). 今天，他是奥拉西NIC Corp.的医疗保健解决方案副总裁。
该奖学金旨在支持和激励那些面临与他所克服的类似障碍的年轻人。
“My high school grades were terrible,” he admits. “Nobody would have offered Nate Hogan a scholarship.”
霍根奖学金没有GPA或标准化考试成绩的限制。
“Why look at every kid through the lens of standardized tests?” he said, noting that such tests also heavily influence high school GPA. “It’s not a really good predictor of a person’s potential.”
该奖学金项目旨在确保每个想上大学的学生都有公平的机会。 The $2,000 annual scholarships are intended to supplement the Pell grants and other financial aid these students typically receive – and serve as a motivating force.
“We want to tell these kids, ‘you have a real opportunity here,’ and help them understand that they can ignore all the noise going on in their lives, all the noise going on in society, and think about how they can dig deep and tap into their full potential,” Hogan said.
内特和费莉娅以8000美元的捐款成立了奖学金基金，并承诺每年都捐同样的钱。 额外的筹款为该基金增加了2000美元，霍根夫妇计划在未来几年加大个人参与奖学金筹款的力度。
The focus on business education is also based on the Hogans’ personal journey.
“Our entire careers have been business-focused,” Hogan said. They met at Commerce Bank – Nate’s first job outside the service industry – where today Felecia serves as senior vice president and director of diversity, equity and inclusion. Nate在担任NIC目前的职位之前，曾担任过各种业务角色，涉及几乎所有主要业务学科（会计、财务、销售、关系管理、运营和领导）。
“We believe a business degree can be a great foundation no matter what you end up doing in your career,” he said.
Ultimately, Hogan’s motivation for setting up the scholarship fund is the same as what drove him to become a leader for the city school district.
“Because I was a very mobile student who came to school carrying a bunch of stuff that no child should have to take on, I can identify with our students.”