Learning.
Leadership.
Purpose.
Celebration of Student Success Highlights Power of Scholarship Support at UIC
On April 23, University of Illinois Chicago Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda welcomed 150 guests to Student Center East for the second annual Celebration of Student Success, an evening honoring donors who’ve contributed to scholarships and programs helping UIC students achieve their goals.
Throughout the evening, scholarship recipients, professors and student ambassadors shared how the university’s commitment to broadening access to the highest levels of educational, research and clinical excellence directly impacted their journeys. Taken together, their stories reflect the many ways support at UIC removes barriers while facilitating confidence, momentum and a sense of belonging.
“When I graduate, I will become the physician my family needed in critical moments,” said Diane Ihezie Edwards, a fourth-year medical student who will soon complete her training and begin an emergency medicine residency. Her path to medicine was shaped early, by experiences with inequitable health care. The Lyle R. Dawson Memorial Scholarship, which she received upon admission, allowed her to stay focused on her training so that she could work toward having a large community impact in the field of global health, she said.
Her dedication to community service is shared by her husband, Troy Edwards JD ‘25, a first‑generation college graduate. Formerly the owner and operator of a construction and project management firm, he spoke candidly about moments of doubt during law school and how scholarship support, seeded by Marie Adornetto Monahan and Lawrence E. Smith Jr. and Linda S. Smith, eased financial pressure while reinforcing his sense of belonging.
“I carry your support with me,” Troy said, addressing the donors directly. “Not only as motivation to succeed but as a responsibility to uplift others the way Marie, Lawrence and Linda have done.”
The program included a video to show donor impact beyond these individual stories. From classrooms and labs to clinics and community‑based programs, donor support helps students turn ambition into action. Click here to see how student potential becomes collective impact in a video featuring three talented and ambitious UIC students’ stories.
Bill McCarty, an associate professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Justice, reflected on the reverberations of this type of support. He and his family established the Liuyang Gao and William Patrick McCarty Criminology, Law and Justice Scholarship. One recipient was able to maintain momentum through their final year, McCarthy noted, earning an internship with the City of Chicago Law Department, and later organized a neighborhood concert to raise scholarship funds for other students.
“That’s the ripple effect we’re celebrating tonight,” he said — a cycle of support that extends well beyond campus.
That cycle was echoed in the story of Vivica Bofah, a third‑year finance student whose ambition was shaped by her mother, who immigrated from Ghana and worked as a nurse at two hospitals. Through the President’s Award Program Honors Scholars and the Chancellor’s AIM HIGH Scholarship, Bofah attends UIC at no cost — support that has given her the freedom to lead student organizations, explore her academic interests and build a sense of home on campus. After beginning as an undeclared major, she found clarity through advising conversations that framed exploration as growth rather than risk.
“For me, and for so many students, UIC has been a chance,” said Bofah, who now studies finance with minors in public policy and law and society, and who plans to attend law school after graduation. “A chance to explore, a chance to be supported and a chance to build a future with confidence.”
Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda underscored student support as a gateway to educate Chicago’s workforce and equip students to compete globally and lead meaningful lives. She noted that UIC’s mission of access and excellence depends on ensuring students feel supported not just academically, but holistically. Today, and with the help of donors, 58% of undergraduates have their full financial needs met, which allows them to focus on their studies and futures without constant financial stress.
However, Chancellor Miranda also emphasized that scholarships do more than reduce financial strain. They create space for learning, leadership and purpose.
“Thank you for seeing the tremendous potential in our students, and for turning access to education into opportunity, achievement and long-term success,” she said. “The support of everyone here tonight makes our vision of student success possible. I can draw a direct line between your support and the remarkable things that students do.”
Learning.
Leadership.
Purpose.
Celebration of Student Success Highlights Power of Scholarship Support at UIC
On April 23, University of Illinois Chicago Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda welcomed 150 guests to Student Center East for the second annual Celebration of Student Success, an evening honoring donors who’ve contributed to scholarships and programs helping UIC students achieve their goals.
Throughout the evening, scholarship recipients, professors and student ambassadors shared how the university’s commitment to broadening access to the highest levels of educational, research and clinical excellence directly impacted their journeys. Taken together, their stories reflect the many ways support at UIC removes barriers while facilitating confidence, momentum and a sense of belonging.
“When I graduate, I will become the physician my family needed in critical moments,” said Diane Ihezie Edwards, a fourth-year medical student who will soon complete her training and begin an emergency medicine residency. Her path to medicine was shaped early, by experiences with inequitable health care. The Lyle R. Dawson Memorial Scholarship, which she received upon admission, allowed her to stay focused on her training so that she could work toward having a large community impact in the field of global health, she said.
Her dedication to community service is shared by her husband, Troy Edwards JD ‘25, a first‑generation college graduate. Formerly the owner and operator of a construction and project management firm, he spoke candidly about moments of doubt during law school and how scholarship support, seeded by Marie Adornetto Monahan and Lawrence E. Smith Jr. and Linda S. Smith, eased financial pressure while reinforcing his sense of belonging.
“I carry your support with me,” Troy said, addressing the donors directly. “Not only as motivation to succeed but as a responsibility to uplift others the way Marie, Lawrence and Linda have done.”
The program included a video to show donor impact beyond these individual stories. From classrooms and labs to clinics and community‑based programs, donor support helps students turn ambition into action. Click here to see how student potential becomes collective impact in a video featuring three talented and ambitious UIC students’ stories.
Bill McCarty, an associate professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Justice, reflected on the reverberations of this type of support. He and his family established the Liuyang Gao and William Patrick McCarty Criminology, Law and Justice Scholarship. One recipient was able to maintain momentum through their final year, McCarthy noted, earning an internship with the City of Chicago Law Department, and later organized a neighborhood concert to raise scholarship funds for other students.
“That’s the ripple effect we’re celebrating tonight,” he said — a cycle of support that extends well beyond campus.
That cycle was echoed in the story of Vivica Bofah, a third‑year finance student whose ambition was shaped by her mother, who immigrated from Ghana and worked as a nurse at two hospitals. Through the President’s Award Program Honors Scholars and the Chancellor’s AIM HIGH Scholarship, Bofah attends UIC at no cost — support that has given her the freedom to lead student organizations, explore her academic interests and build a sense of home on campus. After beginning as an undeclared major, she found clarity through advising conversations that framed exploration as growth rather than risk.
“For me, and for so many students, UIC has been a chance,” said Bofah, who now studies finance with minors in public policy and law and society, and who plans to attend law school after graduation. “A chance to explore, a chance to be supported and a chance to build a future with confidence.”
Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda underscored student support as a gateway to educate Chicago’s workforce and equip students to compete globally and lead meaningful lives. She noted that UIC’s mission of access and excellence depends on ensuring students feel supported not just academically, but holistically. Today, and with the help of donors, 58% of undergraduates have their full financial needs met, which allows them to focus on their studies and futures without constant financial stress.
However, Chancellor Miranda also emphasized that scholarships do more than reduce financial strain. They create space for learning, leadership and purpose.
“Thank you for seeing the tremendous potential in our students, and for turning access to education into opportunity, achievement and long-term success,” she said. “The support of everyone here tonight makes our vision of student success possible. I can draw a direct line between your support and the remarkable things that students do.”
