Deborah and Paul Schmidt Endowed Scholarship

Debbie and Paul met in “Marriage and Family Class” at Goshen College in the late 1970s. Eventually they both graduated with degrees in social work.  While they only worked in that field for a short time of their lives, the values learned from their experiences carried on in everything they did.  Whether it was helping out young moms by watching their kids, so they could run errands or collecting food for the local food pantry, they focused on serving in the ways they could.  While they never traveled outside the US they knew of places far away and their needs there.  Paul listened to NPR nonstop and always knew the latest news from around the world.  Social justice was a key part of their identity.  This was particularly true with Paul, who protested the shooting of an unarmed black man in his city, served on the board of a nonprofit working to feed malnourished children in Africa and southeast Asia, and worked with an agency that helped ex-inmates acclimate to life outside of prison.  That being said, nothing could get Debbie riled up more than when she thought something was unfair.

Eventually Paul and Debbie both found their careers involving libraries.  They were lovers of books and Debbie, in particular, loved interacting with her community in that way.  They were members of St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship the majority of its existence and raised their two children, Mandy and Ben, there.  They believed in the importance of learning, caring for others, and giving one the benefit of the doubt since you can’t know what someone may be going through.   These values were instilled in their children, who hope that by establishing this scholarship those ideals will live on in the students who receive this gift.

Unfortunately, both Paul and Debbie died too young, in their 60s.  Their passion for social justice, their “always rooting for the underdog” mentality, and their values of learning and education have led Mandy and Ben to establish this scholarship in memory of them.