Monumental Donation Forms Endowment

In a pivotal moment for Sprout and S.T.E.M. Inc., the Radimer family has donated a gift of $10,000 to establish the organization's first endowed scholarship, the Kathy L. Radimer Memorial Scholarship.

Each year, this endowment will cover the cost of tuition for a student who has overcome personal and societal obstacles in their pursuit of higher education. In the words of Rich Radimer, the endowment's benefactor, this scholarship is meant for a student "who finds ways to overcome their circumstances."

Named after the late Kathy L. Radimer, Rich says this scholarship is in homage to his remarkable sister, who made numerous academic contributions throughout her lifetime.

Kathy attended Harborfields High School in NY and completed her B.A. and M.Ed. at the University of Massachusetts. She then served in the Peace Corps in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) from 1975 to 1978 and later with the USAID in Cameroon from 1979 to 1982.

Through these experiences, she developed a love of Africa and applied her considerable intellect and determination to address the issues of social injustice. She completed her Ph.D. in Nutrition at Cornell University, where her thesis developed a valid methodology for better understanding, defining, and measuring food insecurity based on the perspective of people who experience it.

The concepts and indicators emerging from her work led to the Radimer-Cornell Hunger Scale, now used globally as a measure of hunger and food insecurity.

In the late 1980s, she worked as a research fellow for the National Health and Medical Research Commission in Queensland, Australia. The 1990s saw her moving back to the States where she was a fellow at the National Cancer Institute and then at the Centers for Disease Control.

Sadly, Kathy passed away from Alzheimer’s Disease in 2019. In her memory, the Kathy L. Radimer Memorial Scholarship will carry on her legacy by recognizing the intellect and drive of hardworking students from disadvantaged backgrounds.