“Asparagus sent me to college,” said Barbara Kelly, who grew up on a farm in Kent County. But Kelly, a retired associate dean from the University of Delaware, knows she was lucky to have a family with the means to pay for her education.
That’s why she established the Kelly Family Scholarship Fund at the DCF to provide scholarships for students from Caesar Rodney High School to pay for college. Kelly and her parents all graduated from Caesar Rodney, and Kelly also taught there for five years. Kelly created the scholarship fund with part of her inheritance and money from her personal investments. She relies on the DCF to solicit applications, vet candidates, award the scholarships to worthy students and administer the fund.
“They are experts, which is why people throughout the state trust them to take care of their funds,” Kelly said. “The foundation also is focused on doing good for people in Delaware, just as I am.”
Among the recent recipients of the Kelly Family Scholarship is Lena Berry, who is studying at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., heading for a career in science. Berry is receiving a $2,000 scholarship for each year she is in school, up to $8,000.