2013 Alumna Establishes Scholarship at Bloomfield College
Growing up, Danielle Patterson’s parents, Charles and Donna Patterson, ingrained in her the importance of giving back. Since graduating from Bloomfield College, Patterson has donated much of her time to the College, traveling from where she lives in Maryland to New Jersey to participate on panels and speak at events hosted by the College. Now, just 6 years after earning her degree, Patterson has established The Danielle C. Patterson '13 G.A.P Scholarship.
“Six years ago, Danielle was handpicked by faculty to speak at the annual President's Dinner, which is held the evening before Commencement. Even back then, she talked about her plans to give back to the College by creating a scholarship,” recalled Nicole Quinn, Interim Vice President for Advancement. “We are happy that she achieved her goal to help current students. She is an inspiration to all of us.”
“G.A.P” in the title takes on two meanings. For one, it will provide gap funding, serving as a retention scholarship open to all majors, based on financial need and academic merit. “G.A.P” also stands for "God Appointed.”
Though the scholarship itself is not religiously affiliated with Christianity, Patterson said, “God has blessed me and now I am in a position where I can be a blessing to others. I would hate for someone’s greatness to be delayed, because their education stalled due entirely to lack of funding.”
Patterson recalled a time during her high school years when a generous donor, whom she never met, provided her a scholarship which enabled her to compete in the National Level for the Health Occupation Students of America Competition, which ultimately led to Bloomfield College, graduate school, and her current job.
“I hope people realize that you do not need to be a billionaire to give back and that someone that doesn’t even know you personally wants you to succeed,” she said. “I hope my scholarship provides stress relief to students so they can focus on what really matters – their degree.”
Patterson graduated with a degree in biology from Bloomfield College and is currently a Clinical Histotechnologist at John Hopkins School of Medicine & Chesapeake Urology. She is also enrolled in the Master of Science in Biotechnology program with a concentration in Biodefense at Hopkins and is expected to graduate in August 2020.
She hopes to one day become a manager for Hopkins’ Anatomical Pathology Department and expand her cleaning business.