Scott Ray

I always assumed that I would include a bequest to the College in my will. Various circumstances allowed my personal financial situation to increase dramatically, so I was able to create 3 scholarships in the performing arts. Geneseo graduates have had wide success in the performing arts and I am delighted to be able to support their education and future success.
I enjoyed a notable success in the professional side of performance before joining the faculty at Geneseo and continuing my career in education. My parents set a high educational standard and my father set an example by serving as a professor, then dean of an east coast state university, then president of a community college and later a regional university in Texas. I was the recipient of a small scholarship for special talent at a large state university in the mid-West, where I received performance opportunities that prepared me for my future work in the performing arts. My parents also set an example of donation by creating a library book endowment at the university where my father had served as president.
My best-remembered memory is of the many talented students who have gone on from the College to notable success as actors, dancers, directors, choreographers, and designers of merit in costume, set, and lighting design.
I grew up mostly in or around large cities. I came to Geneseo after living for 5 years in New York City. The change to a small town environment took some getting used to, but I began to enjoy the unhurried tempo of small town life, especially after the whirlwind of life in NYC.
One of the most beguiling aspects of Genesee Valley life was the annual fall fox hunt and parade down Main Street. It was an amazing spectacle and could only happen in a small town. I have come to love the village life and the strong sense of community which impacts our lives.
It is an honor and an example of a student’s academic and personal success to be awarded an honorific, scholarship, or other award. It helps the student to focus more clearly on his/her aspirations, dreams, and solid grounding in his/her field of study. On a purely financial level, scholarship dollars may allow the student to apply himself/herself more fervently to his/her goals, without the need to earn dollars to pay expenses and giving the student more time and energy to explore and train for future success.