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What is the Mather Family International Travel Scholarship?
Throughout my career, education and international travel have been my passion; in combination they are one of the best ways to defeat prejudice, foster peace and promote international understanding. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” [Mark Twain].
When I “retired” in 2011, I founded the Mather Family International Travel Scholarship to support the travel expenses of UM students, who wanted the experience of studying abroad as part of their undergraduate education. Students must be in good academic standing and propose a plan of study linked to their future degree requirements and long-term goals. Click here for more information. Currently, ten scholarships are funding students in Business, Computer Science, Spanish, Criminology, Economics, Social Sciences and Bioengineering for travel to Cuba, Spain, Thailand, South Korea, England, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan.
How you can help....
As of August, 2023, the fund has an endowment of $255,000. My aim is to get this to $300,000+ in the coming year. In 2018, I walked across England to help raise funds for the scholarship and many of you responded with very generous gifts. Thank you! I am walking again, but this time after major back surgery, I’m taking an easier route along the River Thames from its source in the Cotswolds to the Thames estuary and the North Sea. I figure if you a follow a river from the source to the sea you have to be going downhill most of the way. The walk will take me through the Cotswolds (think charming stone villages with roses growing around cottage doors), Oxford (“home of lost causes and forsaken beliefs”), Windsor (of castle fame), (Eton, James Bond’s alma mater, and many others besides), Runnymede (site of Magna Carta), London (need I say more) and out to Greenwich, where I will cross the prime meridian and enter the Eastern Hemisphere. As John Burns, M.P. once said, “the Thames is liquid history”. Please consider donating whatever you can afford to help future students! See my schedule below.
My River Thames Schedule
Day 1 Monday August 28: Overnight stay in Cirencester
Day 2 Tuesday August 29: Thames Head to Ashton Keynes. 7 miles
Day 3 Wednesday August 30: Ashton Keynes to Cricklade. 5 miles
Day 4 Thursday, August 31: Cricklade to Lechlade. 11 miles
Day 5 Friday, September 1: Lechlade to Tadpole Bridge. 6 miles
Day 6 Saturday September 2: Tadpole Bridge to Newbridge. 6 miles
Day 7 Sunday September 3: Newbridge to Oxford. 13 miles
Day 8 Monday September 4: Oxford, Rest Day
Day 9 Tuesday September 5: Oxford to Abingdon. 9 miles
Day 10 Wednesday September 6: Abingdon to Dorchester. 9 miles
Day 11 Thursday September 7: Dorchester to Wallingford. 5 miles
Day 12 Friday September 8: Wallingford to Pangbourne. 11 miles
Day 13 Saturday September 9: Pangbourne to Sonning. 6 miles
Day 14 Sunday September 10: Sonning to Henley on Thames. 16 miles
Day 15 Monday September 11: Henley on Thames to Marlow. 10 miles
Day 16 Tuesday September 12: Marlow to Windsor. 15 miles
Day 17 Wednesday September 13: Windsor to Chertsey Bridge. 12 miles
Day 18 Thursday September 14: Chertsey Bridge to Kingston upon Thames. 12 miles
Day 19 Friday September 15: Kingston upon Thames to Putney Bridge. 13 miles
Day 20 Saturday September 16: Putney Bridge to Tower Bridge. 10 miles
Day 21 Sunday September 17: Rest day in Vauxhall to celebrate Grandson James’s birthday.
Day 22 Monday September 18: Tower Bridge to Thames Barrier/Woolwich Tunnel. 12 miles
Gifts in support of the University of Maryland are accepted and managed by the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, Inc., an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization authorized by the Board of Regents. Contributions to the University of Maryland are tax deductible as allowed by law. Please see your tax advisor for details.
I’m over halfway at 100 miles. Help me finish with a gift of $ 75.