Jacquelyn Renée Schneider, BC 2006, is not one to close the door to success behind her. After all, she knows firsthand how important financial support for higher education can be. She was the first in her family to graduate from a university, thanks in no small part to Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship, and she has also received fellowships and awards in her pursuit of advanced degrees.
Shortly before finishing her Evening MBA at the Scheller College of Business in December 2018, she made a generous $1.25 million life insurance provision to establish the Jacquelyn Renée Schneider MBA Fellowship Endowment Fund.
“A scholarship was necessary for me to attend school, and I knew I wanted to leave something behind,” she said. “It is incredibly important for a variety of reasons to make these far-reaching types of investments in students.”
She hopes her fellowship will ultimately help maintain cultural and gender diversity in Scheller’s MBA program, with first preference for qualified female students pursuing an MBA. Additional preference will be given to “qualified students who are female and 1) who self- identify as the first in their immediate family to earn an undergraduate degree and/or 2) are underrepresented racial or ethnic minorities."
“I learn so much from the people next to me, and it is vital to have those voices and peers with different experiences in our classrooms,” she said. “Where else do you have that arena for intellectual cross-pollination? It is not something to be taken for granted.”
Schneider is also excited to know she will be helping students take advantage of what Tech, in particular, has to offer. Now a management consultant working with clients on strategic initiatives such as operational excellence, change management, and the future of work, she credits Tech with propelling her career. “I wholeheartedly value the dividends I have reaped from my Georgia Tech education and experience, and thinking about what my fellowship endowment will mean in terms of expanding choices and accelerating careers for future Scheller MBA students — that’s where my heart is.”
This article was originally published in the 2018 summer issue of Georgia Tech's Philanthropy Quarterly Magazine