In 2019, to honor the life and legacy of Peggy Palmer, daughter of Merle Palmer, we awarded the inaugural Peggy Palmer Award for Excellence in Mentoring to Steve Schain for his years of support and dedication to our Scholars. Peggy Palmer, who passed away in January 2019, was committed to seeing Scholars through to postsecondary graduation by providing the kind of tough love and unconditional support her father did. The Peggy Palmer Award is awarded to current mentors in our program who mirror this dedication. Scholars submit nominations for their mentor, detailing how they feel their mentor has been instrumental to their success. This year’s Peggy Palmer Award for Excellence in Mentoring goes to four mentors: Karen Veitenhans, Danay Jones, The Honorable Stanley Rumbaugh, and Tom Glenn. While we intended to award just one mentor, the nominations we received were so compelling, we couldn’t choose just one! In our Scholars’ own words, see for yourself the impact of these amazing mentors!
Karen Veitenhans
“Karen goes above and beyond with her mentoring. She wrote a fantastic letter of recommendation for me for entrance to my nursing program which she knew was my dream and goal. Karen always checks up to see how I am doing academically as well as personally, always saying happy birthday and happy holidays. She is a really sweet person and has always been nonjudgmental which has always made me feel very comfortable. She has always cheered me on and been supportive of my dreams.”
-Melissa (Lincoln ’16, UW ’20)
Danay Jones
“Danay Jones is an exceptional mentor. She has guided me these last four years on a path of success, and I am truly grateful for everything she has done. From simply reaching out to me, to taking the time to meet up with me, to helping me build and understand who I am, to even supplying me with things here and there. She is the epitome of a leader. Although she is a schoolteacher and is very busy, my mentor finds the time to reach out to me and make sure that I am okay, and that school is going well. Danay truly believes in my success and for that, I am forever grateful. I owe her the world.”
-Jessa (Mt. Tahoma ’16, UW ’20)
The Honorable Stanley Rumbaugh
“Stanley and I made the effort to see one another once a month during my time at PLU. We would meet for lunch and we would talk about work, school, family, sports, and life. Stan and I come from very different backgrounds and upbringings, but that never stopped us from becoming friends. Stan is very much a mentor to me. I admire and look up to him, but I am very proud to call him my friend as well. The tradition of people I went to school with and their relationships with a judge are not so positive. I consider myself extremely lucky to have met Stan the way we did, through Palmers. I don't believe there was another mentor that would have been more fit for me than him. I aspire to be a mentor for a future Palmer Scholar and follow Stan's footsteps.”
-Kevin (Mt. Tahoma ’15, PLU ’19)
Tom Glenn
“My mentor is the kind of person that listens to your goals and aspirations, thinks earnestly about them, and immediately thinks of resources to help you get started on them…He is the kind of person that asks about your life, any "new news", and invites you and your family to picnics. He cares for others' well-beings, their successes and them as a whole. He is a kind spirit with a heart of gold, going the extra mile to do good, and is the first to give props and recognition…In challenges, from academics, to handling transitions inherent in life changes, to even handling grief, I knew that I could contact Tom to have advice, to talk, or to have someone that has had similar experiences, be there for me…He has been an inspiration to me through demonstration of his good character through his work, being an amazing mentor and, being a great friend.”
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Victoria Ann Tirado (Clover Park ’15, UW ’20)
This post was sponsored by Steve Schain and Beverly Hatter.
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