Roberts Fund

Many people have given generously of their time and resources, but few have invested as much of their heart and hands as the Faros.

Both attended Roberts, where they met, graduated in 1973 and married a year later. Mike later came back to Roberts and taught PE courses, coached many different sports teams, and eventually became Director of Athletics. Bev was Sr. APN at Golisano Children’s Hospital, followed by time spent as program coordinator for the Nurse Family Partnership Program at the Monroe County Health Department. Both Mike and Bev are now enjoying retired life.

The Faros are faithful members of the Roberts Circle. Mike describes their generosity as “Just part of being in a tight-knit community of friends, and believing in Christian Education.” Wherever the Faros tread, they see needs, and offer to meet them. They find joy in the lifestyle of giving. Mike and Bev have found Roberts Wesleyan College a solid base for friendships, worship, and activities for many years.

They said, “We don’t think our generosity is exemplary, just consistent to enable future opportunities.”

You can join the Faros by making a gift at the Roberts Circle level and helping make future opportunities possible for our students!

It might surprise people to know that we have many parents of current Roberts students making gifts and supporting different areas of the College while their child is earning their degree. A common misconception is that tuition dollars cover the cost of an education. The truth is, due to the scholarships and support given to 100% of our students, we must make up that difference with gifts from our alumni, friends, faculty, staff, past parents and parents!

The Wares are just one example of generous parents who believe giving to the College will enhance their daughter’s experience while she is at Roberts. “As a parent, it can seem counterintuitive to be asked to give to a college in addition to paying tuition and other expenses. Our daughter was blessed to receive significant support from Roberts which allowed us to think about how we could use some funds to invest in providing opportunities to enrich the academic, social, and most importantly spiritual environment in which she is making the transition from adolescence to adulthood. We are glad to be able to be a small part of helping students learn not just what God is calling them to do, but who He is calling them to be.”

We are grateful for people like Kevin and Shellie who choose to support the College in this way! You can join them by making a gift to any of our multiple funds to help make a Roberts education possible for our students!

In the summer of 2017, Roberts Wesleyan College launched our very first Academic Summer Camps for high school students on our campus. These week-long, overnight camps allowed students to participate in hands-on academic sessions taught by Roberts faculty during the day and social events giving them opportunities to explore Rochester in the evening.

These camps provide opportunities for high school students, and Caryl Wenzke, a member of the Roberts Wesleyan College Board of Trustee, saw our summer camps as the perfect way to build a connection between Roberts Wesleyan College and the Guadalupe Center. Located in Immokalee, FL, an impoverished community near Naples, the Guadalupe Center’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty through education. One of their three programs, Tutor Corps, focuses on preparing high school students for higher education.

With Caryl’s connections, we were able to present our summer camp programs to the students at the Guadalupe Center. In the summer of 2019, thirteen students from the Guadalupe Center attended our summer programs! That was just the start of our partnership with the Guadalupe Center. For our summer camps in 2020, we were prepared to welcome even more students from the Guadalupe Center. However, when our summer camps were cancelled, we found an alternative way to connect with these students. In the summer of 2020, 28 rising seniors from the Guadalupe Center, took an online summer class from Roberts Wesleyan College. For the summer of 2021, our camps look different, but the Guadalupe Center plans to send a group of students and we have 16 students enrolled in our online summer camps.

The opportunities that students from the Guadalupe Center have had with Roberts have shown them the difference a Roberts education makes, and they want to learn more. For the fall of 2020, we had our first group of students from the Guadalupe Center apply to Roberts Wesleyan College. These students received federal grants and loans, scholarships from the Guadalupe Center, and scholarships and grants from Roberts Wesleyan College. However, the students still had a financial gap. To meet this need, Gerry and Caryl Wenzke established the Roberts Wesleyan College Guadalupe Center Scholarship. As we begin to grow and steward this scholarship, we have received additional funding from the Karpus Foundation and other generous donors.

Our first Roberts Wesleyan College Guadalupe Center Scholarship recipient, Alberta Morales-Gonzales, a summer camp alumna, has completed her first year at Roberts. Alberta is the first in her family to graduate from high school and the first in her family to attend college. She is thriving here at Roberts! Alberta is going to be joined by six additional students from the Guadalupe Center this coming fall! As this partnership continues to grow, we invite you to be a part of transforming these students' lives.

Alberta Morales-Gonzalez is our first Roberts student from the Guadalupe Center. She has this to say: “Everyone is so nice at Roberts. One of the wonderful professors I met at the camp is now my academic advisor, and two of the professors take me with them to church every Sunday and have taken me to go shopping for winter clothes. I also have the opportunity to share ideas freely.Everyone is so open to discussing issues that matter, especially faith, even though not everyone believes the same thing.”

Roberts Wesleyan College is blessed with an amazing community of more than 50 international students. These students share their cultures and backgrounds with our campus and help to broaden the perspective of our domestic students. Not only do our international students enrich us, they also grow and have experiences at Roberts that shape their relationships and living and working environments wherever life after Roberts takes them.

Hear from some of our students about life as a Roberts international student...

“Being an international student at Roberts and getting to know other international students helped me to develop a more global mindset and become more culturally competent. The business program at Roberts emphasized ethics and integrity as well as servant leadership. I would like to use the impact this has had on me to impact others by promoting ethical rules and regulations in the global financial market.” - Harmeet Luthra, India

"During the three years in college, Roberts has made a significant impact on me. As an international student from China, I have felt the enthusiasm, support, and help of professors who always give every student an equal opportunity to receive an education. As a Christian college, Roberts has a friendly and positive atmosphere, enabling me to make many friendships from different countries. As a business school student, I will continue to pass on the impact brought by Roberts to me. In the future business field, I will build long-term relationships with my partners and customers and provide them with the most incredible benefits." - Lingling Wei, China

“Roberts has shown me how different cultures and perspectives can coexist and work together to grow as a society, that our differences do not matter as much as what unites us. After I graduate, I plan to get my Physics doctorate and keep learning to know how the world works to improve it and impact others as positively as Roberts has done to me.” - Silvia Peiro, Spain

Make a gift today and support international students with superior language instruction, cultural experiences, and intensive academic, social, and emotional support. Here are some of the ways your gift can make an impact.