St. Ambrose University has teamed with the Quad City River Bandits, the QC area's minor league baseball club, to participate in the Bandits Scholar Program, the largest such program in all of minor league baseball.
Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD, president of St. Ambrose University, joined River Bandits owner Dave Heller in unveiling the agreement at a news conference on Monday, Nov. 28.
The first scholarship will be awarded to a current SAU sophomore and will help to cover the cost of that student's tuition for their junior academic year. It also will include a paid internship with the Bandits the following summer.
The scholarship is open to eligible students in any major, but should be especially attractive to students majoring in Sport Management, Marketing and Management. Students must reside in Henry, Mercer, Rock Island or Whiteside Counties in Illinois or Cedar, Muscatine or Scott County in Iowa to be eligible for consideration.
"This scholarship helps our students afford a quality education and also provides an important part of their college experience with an internship - and, most importantly, a paid internship," Sr. Joan said, noting St. Ambrose has a long history of providing experiential learning for its students and has plans on making internships and real-world experience a key component of every student's education.
"As interns with the River Bandits, our students will gain invaluable insights not only into minor league baseball operations but in other fields as well - such as marketing, sales and event management," she added. "This partnership is another example of our commitment to collaborating with local businesses and corporations to make the Quad Cities and even better place to live and work."
St. Ambrose joins Augustana College and Western Illinois University in the Bandits Scholars Program, which now will offer a combined $60,000 value for three annual scholarship recipients.
"Giving away these scholarships is the single most enjoyable thing I do as owner of the River Bandits," said Heller, who established the Bandits Scholars Program in 2009. "This scholarship program is meant to enhance the Quad Cities, and St. Ambrose is one of the finest educational institutions in Iowa. They epitomize all that is great about our community and our region.
"We are elated to team with them to provide a first-rate education to a deserving and to reward someone who has demonstrated commitment not merely to academic excellence but also to giving back to this wonderful community."
A committee of SAU faculty and administrators as well River Bandits ownership and management will select the scholarship winner. Details for the application process will be announced at a later date. Non-U.S. citizens and children and grandchildren of SAU employees or board members are ineligible for consideration.
The River Bandits are the Class A affiliate of the Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. Both they and the Fighting Bees baseball team play their home games in scenic Modern Woodmen Park, which was recently voted as the best minor league baseball stadium in the United States.
Share This Story
