MSU sophomore Matthew "Mo" Gerhardt is a persistent kind of guy.
After submitting an application for the second year in a row to the Nordstrom Scholarship of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, he wasn't terribly bothered when he never heard back from them this year. Disappointed, maybe, but not floored.
"I expected to hear something (about the scholarship) by the end of July, so I just assumed I hadn't won again," said Gerhardt, 20. Fortunately for him, he assumed wrong.
"At the end of September, my mom called me saying that someone had called from Nordstrom and they were trying to find me, although they wouldn't tell my mom why," he said. "They didn't have my phone number down here in East Lansing."
The Traverse City native quickly discovered his luck had changed -- the department store had awarded him one of five national scholarships for $2,000. Gerhardt said he will use the money for tuition at MSU.
In order to compete for the prize, Gerhardt and other entrants had to complete an application and submit two personal essays. One required an explanation of how winning the scholarship would benefit the business world. The other asked students to identify someone they admire. For Gerhardt, a sports enthusiast from a very sports-oriented family, the choice was pretty simple. He chose Olympic gold medalist and California Angels pitcher Jim Abbott. Abbott, the most successful pitcher ever to go from college to the major leagues, was born without a right hand.
"There are tons of people I admire, but I selected him because during his whole childhood people told him he couldn't fulfill his dreams of playing major league baseball. He also had lots of parental support. So there are lots of parallels," he said. "I'm not trying to be a major league baseball player, but I am striving to reach the top of my profession."
Gerhardt hopes to carry his sports interest over into the working world. An accounting major, Gerhardt is interested in aspects of sports marketing. In his spare time, he takes stats for the MSU football and women's basketball teams and volunteers at the Sports Information Office. He's also vice president of the Council of Students with Disabilities (see related story on page 2) and vice chairman of MSU President Peter McPherson's Handicapper Advisory Committee.
Like many students, Gerhardt said he's applied for many other scholarships, only to be turned down. His persistence, though, finally paid off.
"I guess it can be a real disappointment at first, to put all kinds of work into the application process and not win," he said. "I was really frustrated, but this one makes it all worth it."
Additional information about the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities is available at http://www.pcepd.gov.