Lithuanian Alumnus Sponsors a Student
In a historic moment for ASSIST, Mindaugas Juozaitis of Lithuania has pledged a gift of US $7,000 to sponsor one of the Lithuanian students in this year's ASSIST Class. Mindaugas joins the Kazickas Family and Woody Rutter, an ASSIST Director, in sponsoring talented and deserving students from Lithuania.
Mindaugas Juozaitis and Woody Rutter
Mindaugas attended Christ School in Arden, NC, as an ASSIST scholar in 1993/94. He was as successful there as he had been in his home school - Panevezys Secondary School #5, which has been the source of many talented Lithuanian students who have become ASSIST scholars. One of the leaders of the school is Mindaugas' mother, Alma, a highly respected teacher and the school's deputy principal.
Mindaugas is currently a businessman in his homeland of Lithuania. Mindaugas was among a number of Lithuanian alumni who attended a dinner hosted by ASSIST last February in Kaunas, and it was there that he began to discuss with Woody Rutter the possibility of sponsoring a student.
In reflecting on his gift, Mindaugas writes, "My modest contribution is an attempt to illustrate my enormous appreciation of the organization that shaped my life and to express my deep respect for those who carry on the legacy of ASSIST."
ASSIST originally began its work in Lithuania with the support and sponsorship of George Soros and the Open Society Institute. When the aims of the Institute shifted away from secondary education, the ASSIST Board affirmed that we would continue our work in the region until new funding could be secured. ASSIST was initially able to return to Lithuania with a matching grant from the Kazickas Family Foundation, which sponsors three students annually from 2004/05 through 2006/07.
We thank Mindaugas for his generous instinct, and we invite other alumni to join him in helping appealing young people to realize their dream of studying in the U.S. with ASSIST.
Mindaugas (shown on right) writes, "I've also attached a picture from my best friend, Christoph Zilkens' (also an ASSIST student at Christ School) wedding in Germany, where I was a witness and the best man. This -- to thank ASSIST for creating life-time friendships!"
