More than a Scholarship

在生活中，只要稍稍留意，就可以发现那些最美丽的心灵，他们付出了爱，却从不要求回报；他们把生活的希望带给别人，把奉献的快乐留给了自己。

You may have heard of Osceola McCarty. She’s an 88yearold woman in Mississippi who had worked for over 75 years as a washer woman. One day after she retired¹, she went to the bank and discovered, to her great surprise, that her meager² monthly³ savings⁴ had grown to over $150, 000. Then to everyone’s great surprise, she turned around and donated $150,000—almost all of those savings—to the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) for a scholarship fund for AfricanAmerican students with financial needs. She made national headlines.

What you have not heard is how Osceola’s gift had affected⁵ my life. I am 19 years old and the first recipient1 of an Osceola McCarty Scholarship.

I was a dedicated⁶ student, and I had my heart set on going to USM. But I missed being eligible⁷ for a regular scholarship by one point on the entrance exams, and a scholarship was the only way I could attend.

One Sunday, I came across the story in the paper about Osceola McCarty and her generous gift. I showed my mother the article, and we both agreed it was a great thing to have done.

The next day I went to the financial aid office, and they told me there was still no money available for me, but if anything came up they’d call. A few days later, as I was running out the door to catch a ride with my mother to work, the phone rang. I stopped to pick it up, and while I heard my mother honking2 the horn for me to hurry up, they told me I had been chosen to receive the first Osceola McCarty Scholarship. I was ecstatic！ I ran out as fast as I could to tell my mother. She had to call the office again herself to make sure it was true.

I first met Osceola at a press conference—meeting her was like finding⁸ family. Osceola never married, nor had children, so my family has since become her family. My grandma and she talk on the phone regularly and do errands⁹ together, and she joins us for family functions.

Once we got round to talking about ice cream. We found out Osceola hadn’t had much experience with ice cream, so we all packed into the car and went to the Dairy Queen, where we ordered Osceola her first banana split¹⁰！ She has ice cream a lot now. Osceola worked hard her whole life—from early in the morning to sunset—washing clothes by hand. I used to drive right by her house every day on my way to school. Of course, at the time I didn’t know it was her house, but I did notice how well kept the lawn¹¹ was and how everything was clean and neat. Recently I asked her why I never saw her once in all that time, and she answered, “I guess I was out in back, washing clothes.”

Now that Osceola’s retired, she sits most of the day and reads the Bible¹². That is, when she’s not getting rewards！ Every time I go visit, she has a new award. She’s even gone to the White House. She is so happy and proud, though not at all conceited¹³. We had to talk her into getting a VCR so she could tape the programs and see herself on TV—she just sits and smiles.

Osceola gave me much more than a scholarship. She taught me about the gift of giving. Now I know there are good people in the world who do good things. She worked her whole life and gave to others, and in turn she has inspired3 me to give back when I can. Eventually I plan to add to her scholarship fund.

I want to give Osceola the family she’s always wanted, so I’ve adopted her as another grandma. She even calls me her granddaughter. And when I graduate from USM, she’ll be sitting in the audience between my mother and my grandmother—right where she belongs.

你也许听说过那位密西西比州的妇女奥西奥拉 麦卡蒂。已经88岁高龄的她，曾做了75年的洗衣工。退休后的一天，她去了银行，万分惊奇地发现自己每个月微薄的收入积攒下来已经超过了15万美元。而更令人惊奇的是，她转身就把几乎全部的积蓄15万美元作为奖学金捐给了南密西西比州大学，以帮助经济困难的非洲裔美国学生。于是，她成了全国瞩目的新闻人物。

而奥西奥拉的礼物如何影响了我的一生，这是你们从未听说过的。今年19岁的我，是第一位获得奥西奥拉 麦卡蒂奖学金的学生。

我是个很执著的人，我最大的心愿就是去南密西西比州大学读书。奖学金是我上学的唯一途径，然而在入学考试中，我因一分之差与奖学金失之交臂。

一个星期天，我偶然在报纸上看到了有关奥西奥拉 麦卡蒂和她慷慨捐赠的报道。我拿给妈妈看，我们都认为这是一个壮举。

翌日，我就去了经济援助办公室。他们说还是没有可以帮助我的资金，但如果有情况的话，会随时通知我。几天后，我正匆忙出门，准备搭妈妈的车去上班时，电话铃响了。我停下来接电话，听到他们说我被选为奥西奥拉 麦卡蒂奖学金的首位获得者，而此时妈妈还在按着喇叭催我。我感到万分惊喜！我飞快地冲出去告诉了妈妈这个好消息。她为了确认此事，又给办公室打了个电话。

初次见到奥西奥拉是在一次新闻发布会上，当时我看到她就仿佛见到了亲人。奥西奥拉从未结婚也没有孩子，从此我家就成了她的家。我奶奶经常和她通电话聊天，一起做事，她也参加我们的家庭活动。

一次我们聊到了冰淇淋。我们发现奥西奥拉没吃过多少冰淇淋，于是大家全都挤进车里，去了“乳制品皇后”，为她点了她从未吃过的香蕉圣代！如今她能吃到不同口味的冰淇淋了。

奥西奥拉一辈子都很辛苦——从早到晚都在忙着洗衣服。我以前开车去学校时，正好经过她的家。的确，当时我并不知道那是她家，但我注意到她家的草坪保养得很好，而且处处干净整齐。不久前，我问她为何那时从未见过她，她答道：“我猜我一定在后院洗衣服。”

如今，奥西奥拉已经退休了。除了去领奖，白天的大多数时间，她都坐在家里读《圣经》。每次我去看她，她都会领一个新奖。她甚至还去过白宫。她如此开心、自豪，却从不傲慢。我们就告诉她去买一台摄像机，这样她就能把节目录下来，在电视上看到她自己——而她只是面带微笑地坐着。

奥西奥拉给予我的远远超过了一笔奖学金。从她那里，我学到了付出的可贵。现在，我知道世界上有很多做好事的好人。她一生辛劳，最终却将一切奉献给了他人，接着她也鼓励我在有能力时就要懂得回报。最后，我决定为她的奖学金添补资金。

我想给奥西奥拉一个她梦寐以求的家，因此我认她做我的另一位祖母，甚至她也叫我孙女儿。当我大学毕业的时候，她将作为来宾坐在我的母亲和奶奶之间，那是她理所应当坐的位子。