Ohio State Lima alumni Dr. David Rolsten, DDS, recently returned to his hometown to recognize Ohio State Lima’s former director of advancement, Lesley Fry, for 19 years of service to the university. Rolsten has made an additional $100,000 gift to the university in her honor. Fry helped him bring to life his scholarship to support fellow first-generation students.
“I was a first-generation student. There is so much about the college experience that the first-generation individual doesn’t really have the capacity to navigate. A helping hand and an introduction to something that you’ve only heard about secondarily is a real gift to open a door that leads to situations like this,” Rolsten said. “I have talked about how blessed I was to be able to give back so that people can make their lives better as I’ve been blessed, but that only comes through hard work and great decision making and a little guidance. Lesley is that guidance.”
The David Rolsten First-Generation Endowed Fund at Ohio State Lima was created in 2020 and has already helped a variety of students navigate their first years as Buckeyes. The combination of Rolsten’s gifts and the Scarlet and Gray Advantage program matching funds has pushed the fund over $700,000. The earnings in interest from the endowment are used for first-generation scholarships, programming and other support.
Fry was humbled and surprised by the gift made in her honor. She is also delighted for the real beneficiaries of Rolsten’s gifts – first-generation college students.
“I know from my time at Ohio State Lima that first-generation students undoubtedly face different obstacles than students that come from families who had those role models and folks to help them along that journey. I was fortunate that both my parents went to college so I didn’t understand what that was until I started working on campus,” Fry said. “To hear these students talk firsthand about these things that I had taken for granted I think only intensified my desire to help build support for them.”
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David Rolsten graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology in 1977 and a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1981.