Why I Give: The Impact of Scholarship

As a child, Robert L. Edwards ’39 longed to get out of the small town where he lived. His father told him at the time that the only way out was with an education.

That motivated Edwards to study business at the University of Maryland. “An education is something that could never be taken away from him,” his daughter Sara Carlson said. He then went on to study law, but not before his education was paused when he was drafted into the war and became a B-17 pilot. Carlson said he would spend time with the mechanics and engineers working on the planes, so he could learn about more than just flying. “It was another example of [him] seeing the opportunities and taking advantage of them,” she said. “My father was such an example of the power and the joy of learning.”

After a successful career in real estate law, Edwards established the Gertrude and Robert L. Edwards ’39 Scholarship in 2004. Since his passing in 2007, Carlson has continued to support the scholarship, which has benefited 187 students over the past 20 years.

To Carlson, an artist, a scholarship is more than a monetary support system. “It’s saying to the student, ‘You have value.’ That’s why I want to do this. I want students to have this opportunity for a stellar education at a great university and continue the tradition of my father here,’” she said. “One day they can return the blessing.”

Philanthropy has always been important to her family. It was something her grandmother instilled in her father, and he passed it on to Carlson. Carlson has established her own philanthropic endeavors over the years, but views coming back to the University of Maryland like coming home. “The university was my playground as a child because we lived so close,” she said. “Going to the dairy, the great lawn. I’m so impressed with how far the university has come from an agricultural college. It’s a privilege to support students who want to come to the Smith School.”

Carlson recently attended the first “Investing in Excellence” scholarship luncheon at Smith and said she was so happy to meet some of the scholarship recipients. She hopes the students continue to succeed in all the ways they want to. She was inspired to hear from students about their accomplishments and the “sense of direction and sense of power of having this education,” and how it can help them make a difference in the world. 

“I am humbled to be able to do what my father started, what he wanted me to continue, to see the fruits of his hard work,” Carlson said. “I just don’t know anything that is more compelling than educating a young mind.”