Personal Giving Stories

Teacher’s Support Comes from the Heart

When Jill Bohn graduated from high school, she wanted to go to college. A National Honor Society member with excellent grades, Jill knew she had what it took to get a college degree. She also loved children and knew that as a teacher she could have a wonderful effect on a child’s life.

But how would she pay for college? Her mother had few resources and could not help Jill.

Then Jill heard about the Illinois Teachers’ Scholarship. She applied and received enough to cover most of her tuition. On her own, she paid for room, board and all other expenses. She said it was hard working full-time to meet all these expenses while carrying a full load of classes. “In my junior year,” she says, “I almost gave up.”

Following graduation, Jill taught elementary school in Cerro Gordo for five years before she moved on to other work. Today she raises support for the University of Illinois Springfield, not coincidentally focusing on the College of Education and Human Services as well as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

This spring Jill added her own support through a bequest of an endowed scholarship for students enrolled in UIS’s Midstate Student Support for Teaching (MSS) program. The program recruits and provides tuition for underrepresented students with academic ability but no means to pursue this goal.

“As part of my job, I set up an appointment one day to meet Dr. Loretta Meeks, the director of MSS,” Jill says. “What she said touched my heart, so I sat in on a class and that touched my heart ever more—seeing these kids, learning from them.”

The students—like Jill—are bright students, most with little or no encouragement from home. Like Jill, they must somehow cover the cost of room and board, books (many share books), clothes, a computer if possible (most don’t have one) and the other expenses associated with a college degree.

“They are coming from absolutely nothing,” Jill says, “but their heart’s desire is to be a schoolteacher and to make a difference in other children’s lives. That touches me. That’s what I support.”

A bequest was an easy choice for Jill. “I am a working person,” she says. “I cannot just write a check for $25,000 (the amount required to set up an endowed scholarship). I do give monthly to support the MSS program, and I know that’s important, but I wanted to make a bigger impact down the road. So I made a bequest. It will come right off the top of my estate. It’s a very convenient way to make a gift, and I think many people could do the same.”

Jill still has her teaching certificate and may return to teaching in the future. In the meantime, through her bequest, she knows she is making a permanent contribution to education in Illinois.