Family and Friends of Ray Van Garsse
The Ray Van Garsse Scholarship was established in 2012, in honor of UW Oshkosh alumnus Ray Van Garsse.
Ray was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) when he was 2 years old. Given that the average lifespan of a person with CF is about 20 years and that school was very difficult for Ray, he took the courageous step of attending UW Oshkosh. Struggling through his first semester, he was diagnosed with dyslexia by Dr. Robert T. Nash who invited him to enter the Project Success Program. He was in Project Success from 1980-87, earning an undergraduate degree in human services and a graduate degree in special education. After completing his master’s degree, he taught students with learning disabilities at Pulaski High School and the Milwaukee Education Center (MEC). At MEC, he instituted a program for poor readers that became very successful in helping students understand their own reading difficulties and offering effective strategies to help them read better. Even more, he taught them strategies and inspired them how to overcome obstacles.
Sadly, Ray succumbed to the effects of CF in February 2003 at the age of 43. He was an inspiration to all who were blessed to know him. Even during his last months in the hospital, he helped his doctors understand more about the mechanisms of CF and how he managed to survive so much longer than expected. As a fitting tribute to his contributions as a teacher and educational leader, Ray was posthumously awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in 2004.
Ray would never have made his mark on the world without the support, tutoring, and encouragement that was offered to him by Project Success. He would never have survived without his parents’ absolute faith in him and without the excellent care he received. And in return, Ray gave back so much. Protocols for Cystic Fibrosis would not have advanced if he hadn’t freely offered to allow experimental treatments that informed medical professionals and advanced the field. College students he worked with in Project Success found new confidence when he modeled his singular style of hope and expectation. Youth he taught in Milwaukee found him to be inspiring yet practical. He even earned deep respect from other educators and professionals in the politically hot school district as he advocated for the needs of his students.
Ray Van Garsse represented what is best in the world, and he managed to bring out the best in everyone around him. It only makes sense that a scholarship would be designed to honor such a person.