Upon award of a SIGScholarship, each SIGScholar is asked to sign a copy of the following letter written by Benjamin Franklin. Their signature is an acknowledgment of each SIGScholar’s responsibility to support future scholars who need assistance reaching their dreams..
SIGScholars-Temple University
2009-Aaron Todd
2010-Bryce Bayer
2011-Joyce Rasing
2012-Joyce Rasing
2013-Joyce Rasing
2014-Joyce Rasing
2015-Dominique Thomas
2015-Emily Englert
2016-Angela Tate
2016-Dante Sumpter
2017-Kelsie Canty
2017-Nagiarry Porcena-Meneus
2018-Felix Narayan
2018-Leah Vedder
2019-Angelica Grillo
2019-Lauren Cunius
2019-Khori Hooks
2020-Tylir Fauler
2020-Jacqueline Kaczmarczyk
2020-Jahnea Presley
2021-Aleiyah Saunders
2021-Jahnea Presley
2021-Jacqueline Kaczmarczyk
2022-Rose Flanagan
2022-Miranda Barbarisi
Abraham D. Goldsmith SIGScholars-City College of New York
2012-Relbin Thomas
2013-Jennifer Guzman
2014-Jennifer Guzman
2016-Michelle Erlich
2016-Yinuo Huang
2017-Michelle Erlich
2017-Yinuo Huang
2018-Michelle Erlich
2018-Yinuo Huang
2019-Balbina Salas
2019-Carlos Daniel Pereira
2020-Luis Cortazar
2020-Sanbir Rahman
2021-Luis Cortazar
2021-Benjamin Pascal
2022-Luis Cortazar
2022-Miguel Luna
SIGScholars is a website dedicated to the recipients of SIG Scholarships at Temple University and The City College of New York. The website provides a forum for SIGScholars to contribute essays about the importance of higher education and the opportunities higher education provides.
In 2007 Ronnyjane Goldsmith endowed the SIG Scholarship at Temple University so that the dreams and professional aspirations of outstanding students who lost their parents might come true. If it wasn’t for the financial assistance Temple University provided to her over 5 decades ago, Goldsmith could not have attended college. Nor would she have been able to take advantage of the professional opportunities she could only dream about as a 17 year old without financial resources or family support.
In memory of her father, Goldsmith endowed the Abraham D. Goldsmith SIG Scholarship at the City College of New York in 2010. The scholarship is awarded to outstanding students whose parents came to America seeking a better life for their children.
As of 2022, 42 SIG Scholarships have been awarded.
Joyce Rasing, a four time recipient of the SIG Scholarship at Temple University, provided the inspiration for this website and represents the best qualities of a SIGScholar.
SIG stands for Straw Into Gold.
Joyce Rasing
SIGScholar
Temple University
Russell Conwell wrote, “We must know what the world needs first and then invest ourselves to supply that need, and success is almost certain.”
What does the world need?
I had explored this question as an undergraduate. My “world” as a freshman was very limited to the Philadelphia area. I maneuvered my way through different areas of study and volunteered at different social service non-profits throughout the city. There was a need for something in every experience-a counselor available throughout the night to speak to sexual assault victims, or an SAT tutor for underserved Philadelphia high school students. I fulfilled these roles for some time, and eventually others will, as well. It’s not just a product that “the world” needs because the principle of need functions equally the same on concepts or ideas that can be provided to and inspire others.
So how do we, or how can we invest ourselves to supply that need?
This boils down to how we invest in ourselves. Many people choose to invest in themselves by investing in their education, for the possibilities of networking, furthering themselves by discovering their passions and interests, and to become more aware of their own aspirations and how they can pursue them. It develops a sense of purpose and obliges us to take a participatory and active role in the investment of the future, be it in our children and grandchildren, or even the future of a company or field of study.
Success, then, has to be redefined…individual by individual. The value of success changes after we invest ourselves in a certain way of life, and changes after we discover a world, our talents, and how we can use them effectively—because someone will need them. Conwell mentions John Jacob Astor’s method of becoming rich—by studying the details of a woman’s bonnet. The amount of detail that we notice about others, or about our environment in which we function, equates to how well we can adequately serve others in whatever role we fill.
Much like Conwell had originally intended for Temple to be, for individuals to work during the day, and to learn at night, I fit this profile. “Preservantia vincit,” became much more relevant and applicable than just a Latin school motto, and it became the truth. The opportunities of the city coupled with the educational environment has undoubtedly shaped who I have become, and the experiences I have gained will follow me regardless of where I go and where I end up; forever expanding my knowledge and understanding of the world and what it needs; as well as internally discovering how I fit in it.
I can tell you hundreds of things that the world needs, but maybe we’re not used to hearing about what the world doesn’t—the world doesn’t need another individual that lacks character and ambition on the road of the things he or she wishes to accomplish, and the world does not need another individual that lacks integrity in his or her methods to accomplish it.
Welcome to http://SIGScholars.com/. This website was created as a forum for you, as a SIGScholar, to comment on the importance of higher education and the opportunities it provides. As an introduction, I put forth the following for you thoughtful consideration and discussion:
Russell Conwell founded Temple University in 1888 to provide students regardless of background or means the opportunity to receive a first class higher education. This mission is exemplified by the motto of Temple University, Per Severantia Vincit, or Perserverance Conquers.
Townsend Harris founded City College of New York in 1847 based upon the dictum “Open the doors to all. Let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together and know of no distinction save that of industry, good conduct, and intellect.”
As a SIGScholar, how have the dreams of Russell Conwell and Townsend Harris impacted your life and your future?
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SIGScholars 