University of Redlands
The Richard and Virginia Hunsaker Scholarship Prize is awarded annually to a select number of exceptional incoming students from diverse backgrounds.
The highly competitive award meets each recipient’s full demonstrated financial need for all four years at Redlands. It also offers the opportunity to participate in an expenses-paid networking trip to a major metropolitan city where Scholars meet with alumni leaders in a variety of fields.
Each year, our admissions committee identifies students during the application review process who exhibit outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and contribution to their schools and communities. Candidates are then invited to campus to compete for the award, interviewing with a panel of faculty and alumni leaders.
Alumni couple Richard and Virginia Hunsaker, class of 1952, established the Hunsaker Scholarship Prize in 2014 with their transformational gift of $35 million to the University of Redlands. The scholarship program aims to fund a Redlands education for students who will not only become leaders in society, but also will follow the Hunsakers’ example by giving back to their communities and the University.
Marcelle Edenlord is a natural born leader who loves to get involved in her community and advocate for needed change. Throughout high school she was involved in her school's Racial Equity Committee as well as many other activism initiatives around racial equity issues. Marcelle co-produced and directed a documentary highlighting the racism seen in her hometown of Portland, Oregon and collaborated with her schools MEChA union to organize a walkout in protest of discrimination against undocumented students. Marchelle capitalized on her involvement in athletics to unite her school: working with her soccer team she organized several displays of action against hate, as well as served her community through projects with her basketball team. Excited to strengthen her leadership skills and take her action to the next level, she is currently working on a degree in Public Policy at the University of Redlands, eager to eventually work in a career where her work can be done on a larger scale and leave a greater impact on the world.
Elisabeth Eichinger seeks out opportunities to further equity and inclusion in her community.
She served as president of her high school’s Best Buddies chapter for two years, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This position led to other opportunities including working for Best Buddies California as an Ambassador speech coach, virtual planning coordinator, and Special Olympics coach. Best Buddies selected Elisabeth as a California Mission Maker in 2022. In addition, Elisabeth served as her high school’s Commissioner of Education, representing students in her district as a student school board member. In this position she attended and participated in the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools’ Student Advisory Program where she worked with students from around the county to come up with practical solutions to current issues facing schools today. Elisabeth looks forward to spending her time at Redlands making connections through community service opportunities including her first year as president of Club Friendship, an organization which promotes friendships between university students and young adults with disabilities in the community. She also hopes to get involved with the Associated Students of the University of Redlands (ASUR) and is excited about running for the track and field team.
Anika Tabassum is a passionate individual with a “figure it out” mindset who is excited to go the extra mile and continuously aspires to be a change-maker. Anika worked to enhance the electricity and internet connectivity in her home village in Bangladesh. She established tech facilities for village students, many of them young women. Anika is passionate about providing developmental opportunities and technical training for students from groups historically underrepresented in tech. Anika has also engaged in environmental restoration projects in her community: She founded an online-based merchandise with the motto - 'If you buy one product, we will plant one tree for you.' With this project, she planted over 11,000 trees to support the mangrove forest in the Khulna area of Bangladesh. In her free time, she makes Youtube videos regarding study abroad, book reviews, and personal blogs. She is interested in both technology and business and plans to double major in Computer Science and Business Administration at Redlands. Over the course of her time at Redlands, Anika hopes to make online resources at Redlands more inclusive of diverse languages, ensuring that more students can access important university information.
