The Power of Care: How the GRIT Scholarship Changes the Game for Buffalo State Students

For many college students, the biggest barrier to completing a degree program is not academic—it’s financial. Since the Fall of 2022, Buffalo State University’s GRIT Scholarship has been helping ease financial burden for deserving students. Unlike many scholarships, GRIT eligibility is not based on grade-point-average, but rather a student’s demonstrated Guts, Resilience, Impact, and Tenacity. Nominations come from a faculty members or campus advocates, and the scholarship is renewable upon the continued nomination by the nominating party. As such, it is the personal relationships between faculty members, staff, and students that makes GRIT possible.

“The success of a first-generation college student has many complications that can be difficult to pinpoint,” said Jim Finnerty, vice president for institutional advancement and external relations. “At our Foundation, we believe that a meaningful relationship with a faculty member or other mentor can be key to helping a student navigate these unpredictable challenges. More often than not, finances are going to be one of those challenges, and combining mentorship with financial support can have an exponential impact beyond either one alone. The GRIT scholarship is meant to not only leverage those relationships but encourage more.  The main criterion of the scholarship is that the mentor can demonstrate the GRIT of the student and their commitment to their long-term success.”

The scholarship was conceived after longtime Buffalo State Foundation board member Michael Bonitatibus, ’79, member read Angela Duckworth's “GRIT, The Power of Passion and Perseverance.” Bonitatibus believes that the smallest amount of “GRIT”—when combined with financial support and the passion of a faculty member—is invaluable in setting a student on a lifelong path of success. In reflection of these beliefs, GRIT Scholarship recipients receive not only financial aid, but also education and guidance through ongoing financial literacy training. The scholarship may be presented to a student at any point during their Buffalo State career.

“Our faculty serve as advisors and mentors are pleased to bring awareness to awards like GRIT, which supports students who face obstacles on their academic journeys,” said Kathleen O’Brien, chair and lecturer of the Hospitality and Tourism Department. “I am proud of the faculty for their dedication to student success.”

To learn more about the impact of this important scholarship, we asked Buffalo State faculty members Drew Kahn, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and founding director of Buffalo State University’s Anne Frank Project (AFP); Krista Vince Garland, associate professor in the Exceptional Education Department; and Lori Till, associate professor in the Hospitality and Tourism Department, to reflect on their experiences nominating students.

How did your personal relationships with students allow you to recognize their need?
Lori Till (LT): I’m pretty intense with my advising. My door is always open; most of my students come to see me. 

Drew Kahn (DK): With my work with AFP, I become a trusted ear. This student had been to Rwanda with me and been in a few of my classes. For her to ask me for help was a great honor. I knew how hard it was for her.

Krista Vince Garland (KVG): By developing a relationship with the student I nominated, I learned that she’s faced considerable challenges, including the unexpected loss of parental support upon returning to campus this past fall. 

LT: I remember individuals on the GRIT committee saying, “Wow, you really know your students.” And I do. All these students I’ve had in four or five classes; I have that luxury of spending time with them.

What inspired you to make a GRIT nomination?
LT: One of the students was a really driven and very focused student who is on the quieter side, but I got to know him better through academic advisement and discovered he was working three different jobs. I don’t know when he slept—he seemed tired, but his work was always time, he was always in class, and he always participated. He was that student that maybe no one’s noticing because he’s getting his work done and not asking for anything. 

KVG: I recommended this student because of her resilience and determination. As a first-generation scholar from downstate, she has shared about how it feels for her to enter an academic world where she felt underprepared and extremely overwhelmed. Despite such obstacles, she has shown steady improvement in her GPA since her freshman year, established a solid network of colleagues and friends at Buffalo State, and demonstrated the guts and tenacity that GRIT seeks to recognize.

DK: This student came into my office devastated. She plays a role in her family that is not unlike lots of our students. When we have first generation students, our students are busy learning how to be college students while learning college material, but they’re also busy teaching their family what it means to go to college. That bridge is a hard one to walk. For this student, all the family money was going toward helping her mother through a significant financial crisis. Her balancing act was amazing for two-and-a-half years, but then she came to me and said, ‘I don’t think I can come back next year.’

LT: Another student I nominated was a non-traditional student; she had graduated from a community college and had been working as an airline attendant when the pandemic hit. She decided it was time to go back for her degree. She was driving in from Jamestown because it was too expensive for her to live here or take out loans for living on campus. I saw her as an outstanding student bearing a lot of pressure, knowing her degree would take her to the next step. 

How did receiving the GRIT scholarship change things for the student?
DK:  Her spine was longer, there were no more bags under her eyes. I think what was between this student and her success was GRIT. And had GRIT not been there, I think we would have lost her as a student.

KVG: Receiving the GRIT Scholarship helped to alleviate the student’s financial burden and allowed her to focus on her studies and pursue her dream of teaching students with special needs, which is deeply rooted in her love for her niece, who has a severe disability. The GRIT Scholarship has not only provided essential financial support, but also showed her that Buffalo State really does care about her. This in turn, has allowed her to believe and invest in herself. 

LT: The first student didn’t want to take loans out, so this took financial pressure off of him. With the second student, I could see the relief of, “Now I have some resources to not worry about how I’m going to put gas in my car.” In both cases, they were so humble; they celebrated in a giddy but quiet sort of way. 

What sets the GRIT Scholarship apart from other scholarships?
DK: GRIT is a great reflection of our campus. There are often gaps between financial aid and reality; our students need financial support and financial literacy training. The GRIT Scholarship levels the playing field; it makes the seemingly impossible possible and helps make students comfortable amid discomfort. This will not be the last time our students experience financial discomfort, so why not teach them along the way?

LT: GRIT gives faculty an opportunity to recognize students in a way beyond the grades they earn, the letters of recommendation we write, or the job references we provide. 

KVG: The GRIT Scholarship is vital for students because it recognizes qualities beyond traditional academic metrics, empowering those who demonstrate passion and perseverance in the face of adversity.

LT: It also gives us this tool to be a conduit to an invisible incentive program that students don’t know about. It adds a little bit of fun.

Why is it important to make a positive difference in students’ educational journeys? 
KVG: The opportunity to support a student who exemplifies grit and determination is truly fulfilling.

DK: Students have every right to expect to matter to their professors, but this is rare for higher education and it’s special about Buffalo State. We should all consider ourselves teachers and friends of the students. 

LT: Students are not disposable. I tell all our majors, “Once you leave, you’re colleagues.” We know the relationships we develop now will be forever.

DK: Students are part of our family for four years intensely, and forever after that. We put our arms around those kids and say, ‘I’m going to do this with you, and we’re going to figure out a way to make it all happen.’

Is there anything you’d like to say to the GRIT Selection Committee, donors, and supporters of the GRIT Scholarship?
DK: As a professor who’s been listening to students for years, I am very appreciative and grateful for GRIT and everything that’s gone into it. It’s well-planned.

KVG: Your generosity is making a tangible difference in the lives of deserving students. You are investing in individuals who have the drive to create positive change in their communities. 

LT: This is a privilege. Thank you.

KVG: Thank you for your commitment to nurturing grit and potential; your support is invaluable in shaping the futures of promising scholars, much like my advisee. 

DK: I love that it’s not just a gift; it’s a process. A process we call education.

To nominate a student for a GRIT scholarship, email bscfoundation@buffalostate.edu. Please include the student's banner ID and a short summary that helps tell how the student has demonstrated GRIT in pursuit of their education.

Photo by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.