"I'll Take Care of the Scholarships"

by Rose Mary Madejski

My sister and I were both good in science but we never thought that we would go to college because we were coal miner's daughters. We thought we would be secretaries, because in the coal mines that was the best people could do.

When the coal mines closed in 1953 we moved to Buffalo and went to Grover Cleveland High School. During the first marking period the guidance counselor, Miss Florence Welsh, wanted to see us. I think my sister had a 99 average and I had 98.5. She asked, "What do you plan to do with your lives?" And we said, "Well, we're going to be secretaries." She said, "Why don't you want to go to college?" We told her we couldn't afford to go to college. She said, "If I help you get scholarships, will you let me change your courses to college entrance courses?" We agreed to the change and continued to be at the top of our classes.

Later, Miss Welsh asked me, "What do you want to do?" And I said, "Well, this woman named Fritzie Sherman has the ideal job." You see, I worked in a pharmacy, where Fritzie was a pharmacist. In the 50s, women pharmacists were very rare. Fritzie was a good role model, because she was glamorous. She drove a red Buick convertible and had an unending supply of dates.

UB was the only place to go for pharmacy, but I had only won a half tuition scholarship to UB. I thought maybe I could go to D'Youville for two years, where I had a full tuition scholarship, and then transfer. But Dean Lemon at UB said, "That isn't a good idea because the courses are different. You may be behind, and we may not take you based on the fact that we have limited lab space."

I talked to Miss Welsh who worked out the figures and said, "Go to UB because you have enough money from your pharmacy job to at least get you through three years. And if you continue to do as well, then I'm sure someone's going to pick up the tuition for you."

So I attended UB, and Dr. Lemon became my mentor. One day, he said to me, "I understand you're going to have a financially hard time in attending the university. You just take care of the grades, and I'll take care of the scholarships." And he did.