Hi, this is Steve and Bonnie Smith, the originating donors of our endowed scholarship at
East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. Thank you for clicking on the link to our
scholarship’s website.
We decided to create the endowed scholarship in honor of Steve’s brother, Bill (ECU
’76), after his untimely death from pancreatic cancer in 2008 at the age of 54. For those that
have gone through that experience, you know that a diagnosis of that kind is a devastating
event as only about 5% survive past 5 years. Bill was survived by his wife, Carolyn, and a
daughter, Lauren.
Our remembrance of Bill is not about how he battled his cancer, but rather it’s about
how he fought his entire life to overcome the hardships caused by his cerebral palsy. He, like
many other people with disabilities, just wanted live a life that many of us take for granted, a
lifestyle that most of us would call “normal.” Whether you are a donor, a scholarship
applicant, or maybe you are just interested, we encourage you to read on and learn about Bill
and why it was important for us to honor his name with our scholarship.
Bill was never comfortable with receiving “accommodation” since that implied he
needed help to even the playing field due to his disability. He believed his receiving
accommodation was a slippery slope that inevitably called attention to his disability, which he
desperately wanted to avoid. So we can tell you for certain he did not want sympathy or
accommodation. He only wanted to be given a fair and equal chance to compete based on
merit.
He faced many lows in his life, and some set him back badly, but only temporarily. He
told us the lows made the highs that much better. We honestly don’t know how he did it, the
effort required to graduate from ECU in 4 years, then to earn his MBA in night school at the
University of Maryland while working full time.
As you peruse this website, please take a moment to review the drop-down menu that
will give you some insight into Bill’s life. There is also a press release from ECU on the first
recipient of this scholarship. Also please note the talk he gave to Easter Seals at the 2007
dedication of their new building in Maryland. After that speech, the President of the local
Easter Seals chapter told Bill he was the most inspiring advocate that she had to speak for her
organization. Besides his grit and determination, he was uniquely able to make people feel
comfortable due to his instantly-likeable sense of humor that went along with his kindness and
concern for others. We never, ever heard Bill complain about anything. Not even his final
diagnosis. He was an inspiration to all that knew him.
Thank you for visiting and please contact any of us if you have any questions or
comments.