Paul Andre Hermansen Endowed Memorial Scholarship
Type
Scholarship / FellowshipYear Established
1997Purpose
Scholarships for students enrolled at Florida Tech. (GF000040)Description
The recipients will be selected by the Office of Financial Aid. Students will be chosen based on need and merit with preference given to Brevard County students who share Paul's qualities such as kindness, thoughtfulness, and desire to help others. The requisite qualities can best be determined by interviews*, reference letters*, teachers, and others who know the student well. Award recipients may continue to receive the scholarship each year until they graduate or leave the university. No specific GPA is required, but the recipient must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress toward a degree.
History
By the age of 20, when most young adults are just beginning to blossom as individuals, Paul André Hermansen was already a seasoned traveler who had studied abroad. He took to different cultures easily and studied several languages.
In both his personal life and his academic endeavors, Paul's activities were marked by an innate drive to experience the world, its cultures, languages, and people. He enjoyed skiing in Colorado, salmon fishing in Norway, and scuba diving in the Caribbean and off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. He spent two summers studying in Europe, first in Aix-En Provence, France, and later at the International Summer School of the University of Oslo in Norway. He also spent a semester studying at the U.N. headquarters in New York City.
A global thinker with strong convictions, Paul's educational interests gravitated toward international studies, international relations, and ecology. He also studied French, German, Japanese, Norwegian, and other Scandinavian languages.
Because of his concern for the ongoing struggle for human rights around the world, Paul committed himself to improving the quality of life on our planet. Before his untimely death--the result of a tragic accident--Paul had made plans to study law and major in international human rights.
With his passion for fair play and his compassion for people, Paul would no doubt have made an excellent champion for human rights. However, nothing Paul could have accomplished would ever shine as brightly as Paul himself. Funny, endearing, sweet, and steadfast--Paul had a gift for kindness, which he generously bestowed upon all who knew him. His existence has already made our world a better place.
--From the Paul André Hermansen Memorial
"His smile was so big and bright...One hug from Paul would melt all my troubles and burdens away. I knew that even on the worst days if I could just get a hug from Paul, everything would be okay.
Paul restored my faith in human beings and made me realize that genuinely caring for people my age really do exist."
Buffy Longmire, friend, and schoolmate
If you would like to contribute to this fund, please go to Panther Fund and use the "other" designation to identify that you wish to give to this named endowment fund.