Former Schuler Scholar Program workers, along with members of the public, are banding together to help a group of Chicago students stay in college after a wealthy north suburban family broke their pledge to grant scholarships only weeks before the start of the fall semester.
In July, the Schuler family stated that it will cease all scholarship payments due to financial difficulties. Many first-generation and low-income students, who had received top grades in their high school’s most demanding coursework to be eligible for the scholarship, were left wondering if they could afford to return to campus.
The Schulers promised the students $2,500 per year in tuition, plus hundreds more for health insurance.
Marcus Jackson, a South Side native, was concerned that without that money, his parents would have to make even more sacrifices to help him pay for his junior year at Wisconsin’s Lawrence University. He planned to take on a third job.
Former Schuler staffers established a mutual aid network on Instagram to connect students with public sources of financial assistance, eliminating the need for Jackson to do so.
Students can make requests for assistance, which counselors check and upload to the page, along with information on where they are attending college, what they are studying, any unmet financial needs, and how to send them money. Some of the entries contain notes from students expressing why they require assistance.
For Jackson, it worked. This week, while visiting a friend, he received a Zelle notification that someone had paid him $2,500 to make up for the monies promised by the Schuler family for the upcoming school year.
“I was like, ‘That’s not real,'” he explained.
Jackson explained that his parents provide for a large number of people, despite the fact that $2,500 may not seem like much. Since college is expensive, and they’re already helping me pay for it, plus I have three siblings and a grandmother who require assistance. “Getting a little bit of help takes a lot off their shoulders,” says the speaker.
Jackson said he doesn’t know how to express his appreciation, and he has conflicting feelings about having to rely on donations to pursue his college goals.
“Getting blessed is definitely a great thing,” Jackson stated. “But having to be blessed to continue something you work so hard for — it feels like, ‘What’s the point?'” But now the goal is to make the people who have invested in me proud.”
To be accepted into the Schuler Scholars program and receive counseling, tutoring, and tuition assistance, high school students had to sign a contract agreeing to follow a set of rules and live under the supervision of program staff.
Students were required to maintain a near-perfect grade point average, take advanced placement coursework each year, and attend monthly meetings with program administrators. To be accepted into the program, they had to complete an application and attend a camping trip prior to the start of their freshman year in high school.
To receive the $10,000 scholarship, kids in the program, who are largely Black and Brown, had to attend one of the Schulers’ preferred colleges — most of which are small liberal arts schools with predominantly white student populations.
The Schuler family did not reply to several requests for an interview.
According to reports, family patriarch and former Abbott Laboratories executive Jack Schuler’s personal wealth has decreased from approximately $1.1 billion to $200 million. According to former employees, Schuler and his family fired off nearly all of the staff for their scholarship program earlier this year and began shutting down operations.
However, as late as May, the family pledged to honor the scholarships they had previously given to college students. That was only a few weeks before they pulled out totally.
“If I was in a position of power like Mr. Schuler, and I was promising all these kids all these things, I would hope I could just stay true to my word,” Jackson told the crowd.
If Jackson meets the good Samaritan who stepped in after the Schulers backed out, he says, “First, I’d ask, ‘May I hug you?'” Because I do not want to be disrespectful. But then I’d hug them and maybe take them out to dinner or whatever because, I’m not sure if this person is incredibly wealthy or not, but regardless of their financial situation, they donated unselfishly.”