Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Josie E. Rewald Scholarship Updates

New Goal for Josie E. Rewald Memorial Scholarship - An Endowed Scholarship to Aid Women Pursuing Technology via Community College

Josie E. Rewald Memorial Scholarship Fiscal Year 2018 Status: ~$5300 out of $5000 goal
New Stretch Goal: $10,000 by June 2018
Still need: ~$9,400 to meet final program goal of $25,000 for endowed scholarship.

CLICK HERE to DONATE NOW! Enter in “Josie E. Rewald” in the “Instructions to Seller” or comments box, go to www.swedetroit.org and Click on the Paypal Donate Button, or mail a check to

Society of Women Engineers – Detroit, PO Box 2978, Southfield, MI 48037.




Our #EndofYearGiving Campaign worked! 100 letters and several social media posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and internally at General Motors helped us get the word out! We received over $3700 during the holidays! Thank you to everyone who contributed! (See the full list below.) Excited for the success, we decided to “Celebrate on the Run!” and established a new target for the year: $10K before the end of the fiscal year (June 2018)! Doing the math, this translates to $4700 from donors and $4700 from Pat Hillberg’s match challenge. If we meet our goal, we can pull ahead by one year awarding our first $1,000 scholarship for women pursuing a STEM career via Community College!!


For those of you reading about the Josie E. Rewald Memorial Scholarship for the first time, here is some background: in September 2016, our dear friend and SWE Life Member, Josie E. Rewald, passed away un-expectantly. Everyone who knew Josie is saddened by the passing of a wonderful leader and mentor in SWE Detroit and General Motors (GM). Josie was committed to excellence, and her record of accomplishment during her career was stellar. She was very interested in mentoring students and early career engineers, in particular women. She served as a mentor to many at GM and SWE Detroit, as well as those in and outside of her community.


SWE Detroit is honoring Josie and her commitment to engineering and to the education of aspiring engineers in four (4) different ways:


1) A one-time scholarship awarded in Spring 2017 comprised of donations from GM, SWE/GM volunteers, and friends & family of Josie


2) SWE 4 Life (Life Members) Endowed Scholarship Program
o First award will be dedicated in honor of Josie at the 70th SWE Detroit Anniversary in 2022
o This initiative lead by SWE D’s life members is in its second year (see the SWE 4 Life Blog Post for more information)


3) Josie E. Rewald Memorial Endowed Scholarship  
o Spun off the SWE 4 Life Endowed Scholarship with financial support from Pat Hillberg, Josie’s husband
o Goal is to raise $25,000 in 1-2 years for an endowed scholarship for women entering a community college first to pursue a career in a technical field
§ First community college endowment & pilot for all of SWE
§ After one year of interest, the endowment would provide an annual $1,000 scholarship


4) Rewald/Perazza Teacher/Mentor Award
o A middle school & high school teacher recognition for mentoring & encouraging girls to pursue a STEM career
o Award to include STEM kits for the classroom
o Program details including name are still in the works


Check back every few months to see our progress on the SWE Detroit Online Blog.


Separate from SWE Detroit’s Member Solicitation Program, the following categories created based on Josie’s favorite hiking trails* will be used to acknowledge the support of those who wish to contribute to the scholarship. The suggested donation amount is $200 each year to reach the $25,000 needed for an endowed scholarship. You may choose to make a single contribution or multiple contributions. We will send out reminders each year. Contributions will be tracked and your level will be determined based on accumulated contributions received by SWE Detroit.


Kalalau Trail $ 1000 +
Jackson Hole $ 750 to $ 999
Mount Roberts $ 500 to $ 749
Dog Mountain $ 250 to $ 499
Highline Loop $ 50 to $ 249
*See information about the hiking trails and their significance to Josie & Pat on the blog.


Our programs and services are enhanced and energized by your support of SWE Detroit and SWE’s mission. Remember your donation is fully deductible under US Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). Please contact us via email at swe_detroit@swe.org if you have any questions.


Big Thanks to our supporters who have donated so far to our programs (updated as of 1/08/18):


Josie E. Rewald Memorial Scholarship (Goal: $25,000)


Kalalau Trail ($ 1000 +)
Linda Mui        
Alan Cooper


Jackson Hole ($750 to $ 999)


Mount Roberts ($500 to $ 749)
Vivette ElFawal


Dog Mountain ($250 to $ 499)
Song Tan
Steven Maurer
Robert Carrico TTEE


Highline Loop ($50 to $ 249)
Glenn Kime      
Stacy Mann      
Xin Ouyang      
Haiyan LI         
Lisa Purvis       
Norman Peralta           
Felicia Powers 
Hera Peruri     
Dale Gerard     
Mary McDonald
Kathryn Ameilo
Robert Daily
Martin Marks
Bob Cococcetta
Tina Poquette
Stephen Lalka
Cheryl Williams
GM GPS Design & Analysis Group
Virginia Kinney
Silvia Karlsson
John Fisher
Sharon Faricy
Robert Vantil
Donna Mitts
Patricia Andrews TTEE
Uday Korde
Michele Marion


SWE 4 Life Scholarship (Goal: $25,000)
See the SWE 4 Life Blog Post for list of donors


Teacher/Mentor Award Endowed Program (Name TBD, Goal $27,500)


If you have any questions, are interested in supporting the SWE Detroit SWE 4 Life Program, or creating your own endowed program to build a pipeline or legacy to benefit SWE Detroit Programs, please contact Lisa Purvis, Jenny Partlan, Jessica Swan, or Jennifer Morikawa at swe_detroit@swe.org.






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