Established August 17, 2023, with gifts from Douglas E. Ralston in memory of Doug’s grandfather, William, and William’s sister, Elizabeth. This scholarship is awarded to students who are studying in the Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering or Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments.
Written by Douglas Ralston, August 2024.
My Grandfather, William, and his five siblings grew up in the small community of Newman, Ohio. Their father, Robert, was a coal miner who had come to America in 1865 from Scotland. The family was poor but blessed with good health. Life was hard with few pleasures; school and church were their only social outlets. They led a typical working-class life of the early 1900’s. Without the social assistance programs that are customary today, the family could only depend on one another. The only helping hand might come from church or a collection from neighbors.
The Ralston’s valued one other important thing: education. Elizabeth, William’s older sister, was a school teacher. She was an avid reader and had finished what was equivalent to a high school education. This was enough to get her a teaching job. She made a bargain with William that she would use her salary to send him to college if he, in turn, would do the same for their younger two brothers. William accepted the offer and graduated from the Ohio State University in 1898 as a mining engineer. He went on to become Chief Engineer of American Steel and Wire (later purchased by US Steel). The younger brothers whose tuition he supported went on to become an ophthalmologist and a dentist. The sacrifice made by Elizabeth made a life-changing difference in three young men’s lives and saved them from a future of dangerous work in the coal mines.
I have seen the strength of character and determination that Elizabeth must have had repeated in my Aunt Marie (my father’s sister). Over the years I have watched many children being raised. Some have been given every advantage, every gadget and every opportunity with no responsibility or expectations. They have been allowed to fail without consequence. Others have been required and expected to work and contribute to the overall good of their families, like Elizabeth and William. They usually have built a habit of success. There is nothing more important in raising a child than having them built a habit of success. In addition, I have seen those that participate in athletic endeavors, have a more competitive spirit, resilience, tenacity, better team cooperation, and build a greater habit of success.
This scholarship is being awarded to you because you have, over your life, shown that you have built a habit of success. Successful people are what it is going to take to make and keep America the most successful country in the world.