Scott Turner
In Motion Staff Writer
Lance Rothwell/In Motion
The Daytona State College Foundation is an organization on campus that provides scholarships to students, many unable to attend otherwise. Annually the Foundation hosts a fundraiser gala with two goals in mind: to raise money for the foundation so as to provide more help to students; and to honor individuals who have supported the foundation in exceptional capacities.
This year’s Foundation Gala honored The Bert Fish Foundation and Dr. William Schildecker, long time contributors to Daytona State College. The Bert Fish Foundation has a long history of providing financial assistance to various aspects of the medical fields throughout Volusia County by providing financial aid for both healthcare and medical education. Dr Schildecker is a long time member of the Bert Fish Foundation and the medical community of Volusia County.
As a Trustee of the Bert Fish Foundations, he has helped allocate over $10 million towards the education and training of local healthcare professionals, championing of better care for the less fortunate, and providing many scholarships for the Daytona State allied health programs, including the new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Schildecker and the Bert Fish Foundation have also aided in the construction of various educational buildings around the county, including the William Amory Underhill at Daytona State’s Deland campus and the William W. Schildecker Science Building on the Daytona Beach Campus.
Dr. Schildecker has always had a passion for medicine, as President Carol Eaton related a moving recollection during Dr. Schildecker’s introduction.
“I remember a story you told me earlier, that your passion for giving and helping others began as a boy. Dr Schildecker’s father gave extensively to the poor when he was young and when he asked his father, ‘why?’, the answer he received was ‘if we don’t help, who will?’ It was this moment, he said, that defined his path from that point forward,” Eaton said.
She went on to detail his incredible history as a medical professional in the Volusia County area as a physician and humanitarian, his long stints as a philanthropist and a community leader, and his past as a Battalion Surgeon in World War II, where he served his country and left the armed forces at the rank of Major.
Dr. Schildecker himself then took the stage amongst nearly a dozen students who have benefited from the scholarship money that he was able to provide, and was awarded the Falcon Award from Daytona State and the Foundation. It was an honor taken with great humility and he let his philanthropic side shine through in his speech.
“My hope is that this generation will look at this country and realize that to have a functional democracy we need to have an educated populace. Whatever their goals might be, we need to have in place a way that they can pursue their passions and become skilled and educated individuals,” Schildecker said.
He closed the night by thanking everyone who made this honor possible and gave a brief closing statement.
“This is a great college, with great resources, but what’s more important is those who take those resources and use them,” Schildecker said.
Several students from the medical program were in attendance, including Laura Flynn, a graduate of the Associate Degree Nursing program with Daytona State and now a graduate of the UCF Nursing Bachelor’s program. She expressed the importance of the contributions to her own academic success.
“I completed my ADN and began working at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine. I had applied to UCF to complete the Bachelor’s program, but some hard times fell on me and I was unsure I would be able to secure funding after becoming a single income household. Without the foundation’s support I don’t think I would have been able to finish my degree within the time constraints I had,” Flynn said
A film was also shown, presenting various members of the community who had worked with Schildecker over the years, all congratulating him on the work he had done.
The event was catered by the students of the Culinary Arts program at the Mori Hosseini Center for fine arts, and featured a variety of dishes with the theme of ‘around the world.’ Themes included were Mediterranean, Latin, German, Asian and Caribbean.
“The students worked incredibly hard and it really represents what they can do,” said Chef Meaghan McCracken, a student with the program.
A silent auction was also included in the evening to raise money for the Foundation. A variety of items were up for bid, including cooking lessons, beach vacation spot, rounds of golf, and more. The auction raised approximately $4,500 by the end of the night.
The Foundation gala was held September 18 at the Mori Hosseini Center on the Daytona Beach Campus, with roughly 300 people in attendance.