Alum Scott Davis ’64: We have a moral and ethical responsibility
Miquon alumnus Scott Davis is a care giver at heart. It is a way of life, he says, that he learned at Miquon.
“The idea that we all have the moral and ethical responsibility to care and to take care of everybody permeated everything we did at Miquon,” Scott says. “It was the foundation for everything that I learned later in life. I decided that I wanted to help people, and treat everyone like family, whether it be at work or in a social setting.”
Scott has kept that mindset with him since graduating Miquon in 1964, and the idea manifests itself throughout Scott’s adult life — as parent of son, Dylan, as principal of TRA Insurance Solutions, and as an OSTC donor to The Miquon School.
“My company gives through OSTC because it can help students who wouldn’t be able to access a Miquon education without scholarship funding.”
The Miquon School is eligible to receive donations through both the OSTC and the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) programs. These programs allow companies who do business in Pennsylvania to make financial contributions to eligible educational institutions while receiving credits toward tax liability in the same year. Businesses making donations in one year receive credits equal to 75% of the donation; they earn 90% if contributions are made for two consecutive years. When combined with federal deductions for charitable giving, there is almost no cost to make these donations to schools through this program.
The funding, in turn, provides tuition assistance in the form of scholarships to eligible students. Knowing that OSTC funding would make a direct impact on Miquon’s student population, Scott didn’t hesitate.
“It was an easy process,” he says, “It took me about 60 seconds to complete the form!”
Thinking back to his own Miquon experience in the 1960’s, Scott remembers his days in the valley with fondness. It is a fondness that has motivated him to provide the same experience for today’s children.
His favorite subject at the time was math with teacher Lore Rasmussen. “There was something special about the way she taught math,” he says.
Scott goes on to explain that Lore was very warm in communicating with her students, presenting math as a meaningful tool for real life — an approach that Miquon continues to uphold to this day. “The method of teaching influenced our thinking process, enabling us to gather facts and make decisions. There was such an ease of understanding mathematical processes as a result,” he says.
In becoming an OSTC donor, Scott is mindful that he is helping to take care of today’s children, enabling the broad socio-economic span of families to continue to have a similar education to his own through scholarship funding.
He recalls: “The school presented a very safe atmosphere for all types of students to flourish. I loved to go to math class, eat Erma’s [the school cook’s] food, play tetherball, and wander the grounds. It was heaven!”
Many Miquon alumni can relate to Scott’s story. If you are a Pennsylvania business owner, or if you work for one, consider helping more students access a Miquon education by asking your financial officer to name The Miquon School in OSTC and EITC charitable donations.
The Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) and the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) are two educational tax credit opportunities for organizations doing business in Pennsylvania. Current OSTC/EITC donors must apply by May 15, new applicants must file by July 1.
Pictured above: Scott Davis (far right) with fellow Miquon alumni Roy Ruttenberg, Bill Kirber, Mary Scattergood and Steve Rasmussen at Spring Fair in 2014, celebrating their 50th class reunion.
