New Scholarship Fund Supports Students in the Field of Applied Design

Senior Honors night at Maine West High School set the stage for awarding the first Maine 207 Foundation Schlanbusch Family Scholarship to Vanesa Arenas-Rubio. Vanesa is a 2021 graduate of Maine West and plans to attend DePaul University in the fall to pursue a career in graphic design.

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Maine West's Vanesa Arenas-Rubio receives the first Schlanbusch Scholarship
​for her studies in graphic design

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Jill Schlanbusch von Dudley was the generous contributor who established the Foundation’s new fund to support Maine West students. Jill attended Maine West, along with her three sisters, and while there was inspired by a course she took on the history of furniture making. This led her to pursue a career in interior design, which became her life’s work.

Jill is not new to supporting Maine West students. She has generously donated over the years to its general scholarship fund, currently overseen by volunteer Jim Leis. About a year ago she came upon the idea to set up and fund her own scholarship program to honor her family’s legacy at Maine West, while helping students pursue their career dreams in the field of applied design.  After contacting her attorney and speaking with Catherine Marquis at the Maine 207 Foundation, a scholarship fund agreement was drafted to Jill’s specifications and her goal of establishing her own family-honored fund became a reality.
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Schlanbusch Family Scholarship applicants must meet two simple criteria: they must intend to pursue a career within the field of applied design and plan to attend a four-year university or college. Maine West counselor and scholarship coordinator, Shamoon Ibrahimi, assisted in promoting the new scholarship and identifying qualified applicants. A unique and exciting element about the Schlanbusch Scholarship is that once an awardee is named, they may continue to receive the same funding in each of the additional three years, so long as they are enrolled and in good standing at a 4-year institution and continuing their studies in the field of applied design. 

​Jill selected an excellent asset to use to fund her Scholarship, her qualified retirement plan, from which she made a tax-advantaged charitable rollover to the Maine 207 Foundation. This was a win-win for Jill and for the Maine West students who will benefit from her scholarship fund in the many years to come.

The Maine 207 Foundation wishes Vanesa all the best on the pathway to a career in graphic design, and to Jill, thank you for your generous heart and the tangible support you’ve made possible for Maine West students. And cheers to the Schlanbusch sisters! 

Persons who are 70 ½ and above may make charitable rollovers from their qualified retirement plan fund. Contact your fund manager and request a gift be made directly to the Maine Township High School Foundation or another 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable organization. Charitable rollovers have two great tax-advantaged features - they are not taxable income to the donor and can be included as part of the donor’s required minimum distribution (RMD). Charitable rollovers are among the wisest planned gift donors can make. Those interested in establishing a privately funded scholarship or in making a charitable rollover to the Maine Township High School Foundation, contact Catherine Marquis at (847) 977-1288.