Volunteer work remembered

VCU World Studies director establishes scholarship in honor of his mother

When his mother passed in 2004, Dr. McKenna Brown, director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of World Studies, wanted to find a fitting way to honor her memory and legacy of community service. He didn’t have to look very far.

Brown said he saw reflections of his mother’s energy and enthusiasm in the spirit and mission of the VCU World Studies program. In 2004, he established The Marianne Burns Brown Scholarship in the School of World Studies.

“I found an echo of her commitment to community in some of our most dedicated students,” Brown said. “She had an incredible knack for bringing people together and creating community.”

Marianne Burns Brown was a devoted mother of six and an active community leader, participating in several outreach organizations. Over the course of 20 years, Brown donated more than 22,500 hours of her time to the Auxiliary of the Ft. Walton Beach Medical Center in her hometown in Florida. There Brown volunteered her time in the Emergency Waiting Room, helping friends and family members of patients undergoing treatment.

The scholarship that bears her name is awarded each year to an upper-level student in the School of World Studies who demonstrates outstanding academic achievement and a dedication to volunteer work and community service. The School of World Studies covers a broad range of majors, so students majoring in foreign languages, anthropology, international or religious studies are all eligible candidates for the scholarship.

In 2007, the scholarship was awarded to Rosa Roncales, a senior majoring in political science and international studies, with a concentration in social justice. Roncales’ past volunteer work included working as a family mentor with Refugee and Immigration Services and working at the International Hospital for Children. The summer before she earned the scholarship, Roncales took a trip to West Africa where she dedicated her time and energy to build a library.

Roncales said she was honored to receive the scholarship, especially considering the great respect she holds for Dr. Brown. She also admires his mother’s dedication to volunteer work. She says she wanted to use the money to further Marianne Burns Brown’s work by volunteering herself. She used the money to volunteer abroad in West Africa once again.

“I went with an organization called Operation Crossroads Africa,” Roncales said. “I was part of a group that was sent to work on the construction of a local library. It was an amazing trip that greatly prepared me for future endeavors and provided many wonderful memories.”

The scholarship, Brown said, appropriately memorializes his mother’s lifetime of selfless volunteer work. Each year, with each new recipient, he is reminded again of his mother’s good deeds.

“[It] is very satisfying — it takes on a life of its own,” Brown said. “Each year, like a garden, it blooms anew.”

For more information or to make a gift to the College of Humanities and Sciences, please contact Lois Badey, director of development, at (804) 827-0856 or e-mail labadey@vcu.edu.