The Workings of the Fourth Crow

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"Peggy is fulfilling The Prophecy of the Fourth Crow"

Reno alumna awards scholarships to students who overcome the odds
From
The Reno Gazette-Journal (rgj.com)

Reno alumna awards scholarships to students who overcome the odds
By Guy Clifton • gclifton@rgj.com • April 16, 2010

Peggy Solomon Grove knows well the road that 10 seniors from Reno High School have traveled because she has been on it herself.

Some are children from broken homes, in foster care, victims of abuse, from disadvantaged homes, but each has their own story to tell. At the same time, however, they also have stayed in school against nearly insurmountable odds.

And now, thanks to Grove, a 1960 Reno High School graduate who lives in Harrisburg, Pa., they will have the opportunity to attend college.

This past week, she awarded 10 graduating seniors full tuition scholarships to either the University of Nevada, Reno or Truckee Meadows Community College.

These scholarships, recommended by school counselors, were offered to students who have overcome unusual personal challenges and understand that getting a college education is one way they can help themselves, their family and others.

Solomon Rosenberg Scholarship

Grove established the Solomon Rosenberg Scholarship last year to honor two Mr. Rosenbergs who were instrumental in her life.

The first was Mr. Earl Rosenberg, her high school counselor, who she said saw in her something no one else had.

"In the middle of my junior year, he saw that I was struggling with my academic program and called me into his office to discuss my future goals," Grove said. "I told him of my predicament. My mother had been both physically and mentally ill most of my childhood. My step-father, often unemployed, was abusive and undependable."

The family lived north of Reno, at the base of Peavine Peak in a home that had no electricity or running water until the mid-1950s.

"It was rustic and pioneer-like to say the least," she said. "I had three younger sisters, and we were often not well cared for. We never had enough food or heat or clothes. I started working at the age of 10 sewing for people, plus for my sisters. I also was responsible for the cooking, cleaning and caring for my sisters."

At 16, she went to work at Lerner's clothing store on Virginia Street and earned enough to buy a used car and began helping to buy food and propane for her family. There was little money left for a college savings account. Her grades started to slip.

"Due to a worsening of my home situation, I even contemplated quitting school," she said. "School had been my refuge. It was the only place where I received any praise or respect."

Encouragement

Rosenberg encouraged her to apply for two small scholarships: one from the Redi-Mix Concrete Company and the other from The Police Protective Association.

"These two small $150 scholarships were only enough to pay for my first two semesters at (UNR) and give me the hope that someday I would attain a college degree. This meant the world to me. Somebody believed enough in me to invest in me with a scholarship. It was the proudest day of my life when I walked across the stage on graduation night."

She attended UNR for three years and then transferred and graduated from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

Another dream

In 1979, she met a second Mr. Rosenberg, who would help her realize another dream. "I wanted to start my own school for paraprofessional entry-level medical professionals," she said. "Mr. Ollie Rosenberg offered me a building that had been in a recent flood and was in great disrepair but would be rent-free for one year. Ollie would be the second Mr. Rosenberg to see something in my dreams."

She and Ollie Rosenberg later began a relationship that lasted until his sudden death in 1996, just two days before her entry into the hospital for a stem cell transplant for advanced breast cancer.

The school she started is now 31 years old. She sold it in 1987 and now manages commercial real estate holdings with the help of her two sons.

Trust, scholarships

After Ollie Rosenberg's death, Grove helped set up the Ollie Rosenberg Trust to award scholarships to at-risk students in Harrisburg, Pa.

Last year, she began awarding scholarships, using her own funds, to students from Reno High School. "I still have family out here," she said. "This is where I got my base, and this is about paying back and helping to teach kids about paying forward. During the interviews, I asked each student to remember this chance that they have been given and when they have graduated from college and are established, that they to need to consider giving this same opportunity to future students.

"I also told them that I expect them to do well and that I will be keeping in touch and bugging them if necessary."

Grove said that she has never sought publicity for any of her charitable donations, but she made an exception now because this year will be her 50th Reno High School class reunion, and she hoped that her example might spur other successful classmates to consider establishing similar scholarship funds.