Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation Announces Dakota Everett Schmidt Memorial Scholarship

The Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation announces the Dakota Everett Schmidt Memorial Scholarship, formerly Remembering Our Babies, established in loving memory of Dakota Everett Schmidt, son of MacKenzie Schmidt, Theta Upsilon Chapter at the University of LaVerne, and all babies who have passed away too soon.

"The small piece of my heart that has been missing since April 2007 will never be filled. Now, I fight my yearning with a determination to help others who are dealing with similar situations," said MacKenzie Schmidt. "The loss of my son brought to light the gap in resources for both families experiencing pregnancy loss and the medical professionals supporting these families. My hope is this scholarship will help sisters pursing a degree in health and human services to advance their education and become outstanding care providers to families who experience the untimely death of their child.”

This scholarship will be awarded to sisters who are aiming towards a career in health and human services, including medical, nursing, health sciences, psychology, sociology and anthropology with an emphasis on women’s health in the area of neonatal and pregnancy loss. This award will be available to both undergraduate and graduate students.

“The women of Phi Sigma Sigma have been a critical part of my life and have been there for me during college, professionally, through my pregnancy loss and my efforts to help others who have experienced a similar loss. I am eternally grateful for all the love and support I have received,” said MacKenzie.

“There is no tragedy like the death of child and while nothing can remove the pain of losing a child, it is an honor to preserve the memory of Dakota Everett Schmidt through a scholarship that will have a significant impact on sisters and their educational pursuits for years to come,” said Foundation President Vanessa Freeman Zerhusen.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation is able to give thousands of dollars’ worth of scholarship and grant money to collegians and alumnae each year. In support of our Founders' mission "the advancement of womanhood," these funds enable sisters to achieve excellence, impact their communities and change the world.

ABOUT THE PHI SIGMA SIGMA FOUNDATION

The Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation is proud to fund leadership programming, offer scholarships and educational grants, and provide resources for philanthropic and service-oriented events directly benefitting our collegiate and alumnae sisters, as well as the world around us. The Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation’s philanthropic cause is School and College Readiness. Our members support their local Title I school partners through a variety of initiatives designed to meet the specific needs of each community. From equipping students with the necessary tools to succeed through school supply drives and backpack and pencil builds, to supporting enriching extracurricular activities as volunteers and planning innovative leader programming, our members continue to foster the next generation of leaders. Learn more at onephisigmasigma.org/foundation.