This spring, educator and historian John Wright, PhD, established the Dr. John A. and Sylvia Henley Wright Family Endowed Scholarship Fund at the Foundation in memory of his wife, Sylvia, a 1958 graduate of Jewish Hospital School of Nursing.
The scholarship will support a student who is currently living in an under-resourced community to attend Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing. Here, Dr. Wright shares the ‘why’ behind his gift:
Sylvia was one of the first two Black students accepted to the nursing program at Jewish Hospital School of Nursing. She received a full-ride scholarship, was in the honor society, and became class president. When I met her in 1959, she was already working as a nurse and was finishing her bachelor’s degree at Washington University, while I was a college senior working on my bachelor’s degree in education.
In 1961, Sylvia and I married and soon started a family. Always driven, Sylvia went on to earn two master’s degrees, and she encouraged me to get my doctorate. So whenever our three boys tried to make excuses about school, Sylvia wouldn’t hear it. She told them, “You can do it. Your dad and I got three degrees a piece.” She consistently challenged the kids and me and would not accept mediocre. Sylvia and I have never taken education for granted because none of our parents finished high school.
Sylvia’s career touched many lives before she retired as a nurse educator. After she passed away in 2023, I wanted to do something in her name that would be lasting. By establishing an endowed scholarship at Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing through the Foundation, Sylvia will be remembered every year. Hopefully, the scholarship will help a student who will then pass it on and help others.
No one knew what Sylvia would do when she received a nursing scholarship all those years ago. When you’re given a gift, it’s what you do with it to make a difference. Scholarships have a ripple effect—Sylvia impacted me, our kids, and our grandkids. Our three boys finished college and two went on to receive advanced degrees. And our grandkids are on track to do the same.
This scholarship is a gift for our kids and grandkids too. It will always be there so Sylvia’s memory and story live on.