Memorial Scholarship Honors Former Blind Alumnus
Posted: 9/12/2011 in Announcements
St. Augustine, Fla. (Sept. 12, 2011) – In memory of a former honor student and alumnus of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, family members of Eric Joseph Schwarz established a scholarship to be awarded annually to a deserving senior in the Blind Department.
The Eric Schwarz Memorial Scholarship is to serve as a legacy to Eric Schwarz, the son of Dr. George and Eva Marie Schwarz of Jacksonville, who recently passed away.
The scholarship, which was established for the first time for this year’s graduating class, will help further a blind student’s college education, career or chosen vocation.
“In awarding this annual scholarship, we hope to pay great tribute to all the extraordinary things Eric accomplished here at the school and throughout his career,” said Linda Meehan, FSDB Educational Diagnostician for the Visually Impaired. “Eric was a stellar scholar and talented musician who excelled at everything he touched, and it was an honor to teach such a gifted student.”
Schwarz attended FSDB in the 1970s and was well remembered for his talents, especially by Charlie Crozier, Blind Department High School Assistant Principal, who served as his mobility teacher.
“He was extremely bright and inquisitive,” Crozier said. “For a blind individual, he was very aware of his surroundings and his environment. I took him downtown and after just one time he would remember it – that is one of the reasons why I remember him very well.”
After graduating from FSDB two years ahead of his peers at the age of 16, Schwarz attended Wolfson High School in Jacksonville where he graduated with honors. After graduation, he enrolled at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
According to the Florida Times-Union legacy site, Schwarz won the respect and admiration of all whose lives he touched. “One of his classmates was in awe that Eric took trigonometry, French, German and Spanish, just for fun,” stated his biography. He graduated from Duke with a double major in Computer Science, Classical Music and Music History, and a minor in Jazz.
His career involved serving with the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence as a database administrator for 15 years and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the same capacity for his last 12 years.
Individuals who wish to honor Eric Schwarz may make donations to the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, with “Eric Schwarz Memorial Fund” written in the memo portion of the check, and mailed to:
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
Attn: Ms. Shirley Hopkins
207 N. San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine, FL 32084-2799