Kathy A. and Earl S. Boykins, Sr.

*BOYKINS CREATES SCHOLARSHIP FOR THOSE “COMING BEHIND HER” *

Even though Kathy Nicholas Boykins ’80 did not receive a scholarship when she attended Frostburg State, she knows that someone, somewhere invested in her education.

“We have all benefitted from someone’s investment, whether it was directly or indirectly,” said Boykins, who was a business administration major. “I feel that it is my civic responsibility to share the blessings that I have been given and to share the fruits of my labor with the next generation.”

That belief inspired Boykins to create the Kathy A. and Earl S. Boykins, Sr., Scholarship at FSU, named for her and her husband. Scholarship recipients must be graduates of Baltimore City Public Schools, where Boykins grew up.

“I specifically targeted the scholarship to be given to a Baltimore City resident based upon my own experience in the Baltimore City Public School system, which had given me the tools I needed to be successful at FSU,” Boykins said. “It has been my desire to create a scholarship for those coming behind me. The Baltimore City School system continues to produce many exceptionally gifted students who could benefit from attending FSU and have ‘a world of experiences,’ as I did.”

Currently residing in Ellicott City, Md., Boykins worked as an insurance professional with Allstate Insurance Company for nearly 37 years before retiring two years ago. She strongly feels that if she can relieve the burden of debt for a young person, she has accomplished the main mission of her scholarship.

“I want to invest in allowing a recipient to have these experiences freely without being concerned about post-graduation debt, which is a concern for most young people attending college today,” she said.

In addition to the scholarship, Boykins continues to give back to her alma mater as a member of the FSU Alumni Association Board of Directors. She also volunteers as a tutor for Reading Partners, a national nonprofit that provides reading support for elementary students, and assists with her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., an international public service organization.

She encourages alumni, whether they received financial assistance or not, to consider “investing” in their own FSU scholarship.

“I would encourage [alumni] to understand that funding a scholarship at Frostburg is an investment into our future leaders and innovators,” she added. “Certainly, the education and the college experience that I received from Frostburg provided me with the lifelong lessons that I have carried throughout my adulthood.”

(from Spring 2021 Profile Magazine – By Ty DeMartino ’90)