The Power of Education
Cornelia de Schepper ’66

Education has always been important to my family. Thinking back to the decision about where I would attend high school, it was important to my parents that I attend a school with an outstanding academic reputation. When I was a student at Rosemary Hall in the early ’60s, it was a very challenging environment. I studied all the time, but after that college was a breeze. My brother Marten, who was just two years younger than me, attended The Choate School; my parents sacrificed so that Marten and I could attend these schools, which forever shaped our lives.

After receiving my master’s degree from Boston University, I taught in Boston for a year. Then shortly after traveling to the Netherlands with my family, I took a chance and applied to teach at The Hague—never expecting to be hired. My expectations aside, I got the job and happily lived and worked in the Netherlands for two years. In the years since, my career has taken me to a school in Iran where I helped to structure the curriculum, to the embassy school in Israel where I taught, to Vandenberg Airforce Base in California where I worked as a logistics analyst with the Space Shuttle program, and eventually to San Francisco, where I currently work in real estate. My Rosemary Hall education prepared me well for my varied career path because I could adapt quickly to new environments.

About a year ago, I created a charitable remainder trust. My first attraction to the trust was the tax incentive. Financially, it was an easy decision that made a lot of sense for me; and when considering the beneficiary, Choate Rosemary Hall was an obvious choice.

After my brother passed away in 1977, my grandmother established a scholarship in his memory at the School. Each year I receive a letter from the recipients of my brother’s scholarship. The recipients are impressive young people, and they are incredibly grateful for the opportunity they have been given.

Just like my parents and grandmother before me, I believe in the power of education. I also know that very few people can afford full tuition today. I want to help make a Choate Rosemary Hall education possible for students who could not otherwise afford to attend such a fine institution.