Our Donors & Their Gifts
Dr. Michael Petru '73
Dr. Michael Petru '73 received a scholarship to attend Yale. Having benefited from financial aid, he knew how meaningful the assistance had been to him, and wanted to extend that kind of help to others. He named Yale as a beneficiary of his life insurance policy, and shortly after his death in 2008, Yale received a bequest to establish an endowed scholarship fund in his name to benefit deserving students from public high schools in the greater Los Angeles area, where he had attended high school. The student selected as the inaugural Petru Scholar is Alma Alegria, a member of the Class of 2012. Alma is the first member of her family to attend college.
Alma Alegria '12 is the inaugural Petru Scholar
Now a sophomore residing in Silliman College, Alma plans to major in film studies and/or literature—perhaps double majoring in international relations or ethnicity, race, and migration. She spent her 2009 spring break in Nepal at a Kathmandu orphanage. Of her experience, she writes:
"The most rewarding (and equally heartbreaking) part of my trip was volunteering at the Bal Mandir orphanage. Although I was unfamiliar with the language, had to pay travel expenses from my savings, would live in rustic conditions, and would not see my family that semester, I signed up to work at the orphanage because these difficulties for me were nothing in comparison to the challenges and suffering the children at the orphanage faced every day. Despite coming from a low-income, single-parent, immigrant family, I had the privilege of personally delivering medicine, clothes, toys; helping care-takers; making the children laugh, smile and share their stories, while also being exposed to their country and culture. I plan to return."
In addition to her studies, Alma participates in student theatrical productions with the Yale Dramatic Association. She is also a member of the Ballet Folklorico de Yale, and is managing editor of La Fuerza, Yale's Latino magazine. Alma spent much of this past summer in France, enrolled in a French cinema course through Yale Summer Sessions. Upon her return, she took part in a Yale Summer Service project preparing and delivering college-information workshops for youths in the foster care system. She also tutors New Haven elementary school students.
Alma plans to follow her baccalaureate studies with graduate work. She is thinking about eventually joining the Peace Corps, but has other ideas as well, including pursuing a law degree in education/social policy or becoming a teacher. She also envisions combining her career goals of outreach and service with her love of academia and the arts through documentary filmmaking.
Endowed scholarships such as the Petru Scholarship Fund enable Yale to admit students like Alma, who show great promise, but who otherwise may not have the opportunity to benefit from the unique experience of living and learning at Yale. Collectively, endowed scholarships form the cornerstone of Yale's financial aid program and allow the University to expand accessibility and maintain its excellence.