What is Your Legacy?

Susie Wilson’s husband, Bud, and son Teddy Wilson ’00 joined her at a special assembly to honor her in December 2019.

Is it a statement of what matters to you?

How you want to be remembered?

How you choose to help others in the future?

For Susie Wilson, it is all of those things and more.

In early 2020, our 32-year veteran receptionist, Susie Wilson, cleaned out her desk, handed in her keys and packed up a stack of inspirational quotes she had amassed for reading at the start of every 7th and 8th grade lunch period.

The ever-present smile, that contagious (and loud) laugh, that absolutely genuine interest in everyone who passed through the door—to apply, to make a delivery, to pick up a sick child, to write out an excuse for being late or having to leave early, to visit their alma mater—Susie was our Fred Rogers. Her warmth and caring were a daily part of five generations (cycles) of JBS students and families. Her gentle touch has helped so many in the Burroughs community, and her legacy will live on through the Susie Wilson Scholarship Fund.

Unbeknownst to Susie, the Wilson family and friends launched the Susie Wilson Scholarship Fund when Susie announced her retirement. Of course, Susie is totally embarrassed by the attention, but she is also wholly devoted to the purpose: to raise tuition support for JBS employees so that their children may have a Burroughs education as Susie’s sons (Jim ’89, Andy ’91, Tom ’95 and Ted ‘00) had.

To date, more than 100 donations have been made to the Fund, including a class gift from the class of 1995. Gifts are still needed, and our hope is that income from this Fund will ultimately support the cost of one full tuition. All gifts are tax deductible. If you would like to make a gift to honor Susie’s legacy at Burroughs, please click here.

Endowed Scholarships at JBS—How They Work

Endowed scholarships are gifts in perpetuity. The cost of all, or a portion, of one year’s tuition is covered by the income generated from each scholarship fund—we never touch the principal, allowing it to grow indefinitely.

For the 2021-2022 school year, an endowed scholarship would need to be just over $693,121 to conservatively produce enough investment income to cover the full cost of one student’s tuition. These numbers change annually as tuition inevitably rises.

At this writing, Burroughs has over 60 endowed scholarships, providing individual students anywhere from $4,500 to 110% of tuition (covers books, activities, etc.). In 2020-21, more than 26% of our students were awarded over $3.8 million in aid. Tuition aid is one of Burroughs’ core commitments. It’s a big promise and only one we can keep with the continued generosity of our community.

If you would like to learn more about endowing a scholarship at JBS, or other ways you can support JBS with a future gift, contact Ginger Imster at gimster@jburroughs.org or (314) 993-4045, ext. 256.