There has been a connection between Houston Community College and the Bellaire Southwest Houston Rotary Club (BSWH) as long as most people can remember. HCC Southwest administrators, faculty and staff have been members of the club and members of the club have been adjunct faculty members at HCC.

For example, Julian Fisher, HCC Southwest College Operations Officer, is currently a member of BSWH Rotary. When Mike Livingston, current Chair of the Rotary’s International Committee, returned in 1992 to Bellaire after several years of working in Central Africa, he immediately began a seven-year stint as adjunct instructor in the Intensive English Program at HCC Gulfton.

“The (Rotary) club’s connection with HCC is ongoing,” noted Rotary President Byron Holloway. “We are all part of the community and both organizations strive to serve the citizens and work toward a better Bellaire”.

Three years ago Grace Bishop, department chair of Intensive English at the time, began working with the HCC Foundation to create a scholarship fund to help financially-strapped Intensive English students. Bishop recruited instructor Julieta Ruppert, who threw herself and her students into pizza sales, garage sales, book sales, nacho sales and any other sales that would add to the fund. She also pitched the program to other faculty members, local businesses and interested individuals, asking for donations. By the end of its first year, the Southwest Intensive English Scholarship became an Endowed scholarship.

Ruppert had been involved in several BSWH Rotary projects and knew about the club’s annual fundraiser and grants program. She applied for a scholarship fund grant and HCC was accepted, receiving $2,000 now and possibly another $2,000 later this year.

With the Rotary check in hand, Bishop says they have $17,000 in the SW Intensive English Endowed Scholarship fund. She expects to have $20,000 by the end of spring on her way to an eventual goal of $100,000.