Dogs pictured from left to right: Buddy (4) and Flurry (12)
Greg and Kimberly Pappas have established the Emily Pappas '22 Family Maryland Promise Scholarship with a $125,000 gift in honor of their daughter Emily. It will support undergraduate kinesiology students in the School of Public Health, with preference given to students from underrepresented populations, low-income and first-generation college students.
As part of the Maryland Promise Scholarship program, the Pappas Family fund will support high-performing undergraduate freshmen and transfer students from Maryland colleges. Awardees must demonstrate financial need and be residents of the state of Maryland or the District of Columbia.
This gift, which is part of the Pappas family’s philanthropic mission to support education and education access, is the latest in their efforts to “pay it forward.”
"We have a strong belief that providing people with the opportunity to have life-changing educational experiences is the highest return on investment both for individuals and philanthropic dollars," said Greg Pappas.
We have a strong belief that providing people with the opportunity to have life-changing educational experiences is the highest return on investment both for individuals and philanthropic dollars.
And with middle daughter Emily Pappas '22 graduating from the University of Maryland School of Public Health this year with a bachelor’s in kinesiology and pursuing a doctorate degree in physical therapy, the Pappas family felt called to establish a scholarship benefiting kinesiology students.
"We think the kinesiology program at Maryland is great and despite it being a very complicated time to be at a college, Emily had a great overall college experience."
An appreciation of Maryland's value was an additional incentive for the Pappas family.
"We just personally felt that we owed something to the institution," Greg explained.
We were the beneficiaries of all of the resources that Maryland has to offer, including the outstanding curriculum, facilities and caliber of faculty and staff. We feel like Maryland, in part because of its scale, its long history of philanthropy and because of the diversity of the programs it offers, is able to offer a lot to students compared to other schools."
The Pappas family also appreciated the Maryland Promise Scholarship's efforts to support students’ personal and academic success through to graduation. As part of the program, awardees participate in programs and activities that help them transition into higher education, including supplemental advising, financial aid counseling and academic workshops.
"Our hearts are pulled quickly to the promise scholarship design," Greg added.
Another incentive for the Pappas' gift was the matching challenge. As a feature of the Clark Challenge for the Maryland Promise, the Pappas' gift will be matched 1:1 by the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation and the University of Maryland.
"We felt that by participating in the match program vs. just doing something on our own, we were compounding our gift and making an impact right away," said Greg.
As an endowed scholarship, anyone can contribute to the Emily Pappas '22 Family Maryland Promise Scholarship fund with matched funds by the Clark Challenge for the Maryland Promise Program until March 1, 2026, or as long as matching funds are available.
"Through this scholarship, we can make a real difference, one student at a time because a successful student becomes a successful leader, who becomes a successful alum, who becomes someone who can give back to the community that they came from."
To help support kinesiology students succeed at Maryland, consider making a gift to the Emily Pappas '22 Family Maryland Promise Scholarship.