Beyond Boundaries Industry Support

Every day, industry partners ask “How can we increase opportunities for Virginia Tech students?” Now, more than ever, Virginia Tech is committed to providing scholarships for underrepresented and high-achieving students and we are partnering with industry to make a difference.

The Beyond Boundaries Scholars program is among Virginia Tech’s signature programs, and matches support from our partners, dollar-for-dollar, to attract the best and brightest to Virginia Tech.

Qualifying contributions may be made in the amounts of $3,000, $5,000, $7,000, $13,000, and $26,000 and will be matched by the university. Scholarship amounts of $13,000 and above each year will convey special recognition for your company.

To learn more about this special way to increase the impact of your support, contact Johanna Cricenti with LINK, The Center for Advancing Industry Partnerships. Johanna can be reached at johanna5@vt.edu.

Thanks to 160 generous contributors supporting the Beyond Boundaries Scholars program, nearly 300 Virginia Tech students are on track to realizing their dreams. Every one of them has an inspiring story. We hope you enjoy reading several of them, below.

Jordyn Moffatt is one of dozens of members of the Class of 2023 benefiting from the Beyond Boundaries Scholars program this year.

Being selected as a scholar helped cement her decision to enroll. Watching Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” as a girl sparked Moffatt’s interest in becoming an animator. Now, a decade later, she’s honing her skills as a fine arts major in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.

“Being an art major brings a lot of expenses for supplies and a computer, so not having to worry about cost as much is a significant help to my family and me,” Moffatt said.

Following the death of his father, Joshua Protil was raised by members of his extended family, separate from his siblings, and he said that educational costs were a major concern when applying to colleges.

“Becoming a Beyond Boundaries Scholar has helped me get one step further in achieving my dream of becoming an architect,” said Protil, a member of the Class of 2023. “I am very fortunate to be studying at this wonderful university. The only person in my family who has gone to college is my uncle, so coming here was definitely an adjustment. I have worked very hard to get where I am now, but I know that just because I overcame hardships does not mean that I had a right to receive any money. The only way I received this scholarship was based on the character and kindness of donors.”

Carlos Gil was in the first cohort of Beyond Boundaries Scholars to enroll back in 2017. Now a junior, he is working toward a degree in electrical engineering with a focus on energy and power systems.

“I feel like there’s a lot I can do, especially as an electrical engineer, to help out with cleaner power for the environment,” Gil said.

He said being a Beyond Boundaries Scholar inspires him to want to make a positive impact either in the United States or in his country of origin, Colombia. 

“It helps tremendously knowing there are people out there that have so much confidence in me that they’re willing to help pay for my future,” Gil said.

For Pittsburgh native and Virginia Tech sophomore Mary Wilding, becoming a doctor seems a great way to combine her passion for the sciences with a deeply rooted desire to help others. As a neuroscience major, she’s on her way to realizing her ambition.

Mary said being a Beyond Boundaries Scholar inspires her by “allowing me to meet new people I wouldn’t otherwise get to know,” including a donor to the program whose generosity made a great impression.

“I think it was really cool to put an actual person to who was giving to the scholarship,” Mary said. “It serves as motivation to me that she is a woman who is investing in me as a student, and my role as a student is to do well and always try my best.