A loud and clear promise for Valley Scholars

“Our members made it loud and clear: they wanted to support scholarships for students in this area. They were very interested in an endowed scholarship so the Cross Keys–Mill Creek Ruritan name would carry on forever,” said Bob Scott, a 35-year Ruritan Club member and retired educator of 40 years. “The legacy we’re trying to leave is service to the community — dedication, commitment, hard work and high expectations.” 

The Ruritans gathered with members of JMU’s Valley Scholars program to celebrate the impact of their $100,000 endowed scholarship gift in the club’s historic meeting building, the recent sale of which made the gift possible.

During the gathering, JMU's Shaun Mooney thanked the Cross Keys–Mill Creek Ruritan Club for 12 years of partnership. Mooney underscored the ripple that this endowment creates: “It doesn’t just impact the student — it impacts everyone who works with these students. It strengthens the whole community.” 

Valley Scholars student Jeremy Hammer and alumnus Abraham Aponte, both Broadway High School graduates, said the program transformed their lives.

 “When I was displaced from my home in high school, my Valley Scholars mentor talked to me night after night and gave me the support and resources I needed,” Hammer said. “I don't know anybody who's gone to college, and I never thought that it would be possible for me. Valley Scholars has really changed that.”

For Aponte, a foster care family specialist, growing up was a “struggle.” He said he felt as though hard work wasn’t enough to make ends meet. “[Valley Scholars] lifted a heavy burden off my family,” said Aponte. “We wouldn’t have been able to afford college. Without this, I’d probably be paying loans for years and working a job I didn’t love.” 

The Cross Keys-Mill Creek Ruritan Club has long focused on meeting local community needs. Club Treasurer Dean Boese said that with the recent sale of their building to the Battlefield Foundation, they realized they could continue to meet in the building and “create something lasting with the funds.”

Longtime Ruritan member John Cuellar said, “The whole club gave input. We interviewed Valley Scholars three times because we wanted to know everything. From the get-go, we wanted the money to go into education, especially scholarships. Valley Scholars checked all the boxes,” said Cuellar. “We’ve known about the program since its inception, and it matched our vision perfectly.”

Valley Scholars is a college-access and scholarship program that JMU started in 2014 to empower promising local students in the Shenandoah Valley community to become the first in their families to earn a bachelor's degree. 

“We look for academic aptitude, first‑generation status, financial need and commitment,” said Mooney, executive director of first-generation student success at JMU. These students start in middle school, completing a rigorous college preparation program that includes dual-enrollment and AP classes. Eighty percent of Valley Scholars choose to become JMU students while others go to other universities.

The support doesn’t end in high school. Students who are accepted to JMU receive scholarships of tuition and fees and access to further mentorship and dedicated first-generation college resources. Mooney said about 500 students have gone through the program in total — 205 middle and high school students are currently enrolled in the preparatory program, 80 students are attending JMU, and over 60 Valley Scholars will have graduated by May 2026.

For Valley Scholars this means a permanent source of scholarship support — steady, sustainable funding that grows over time and ensures future students can count on the same opportunities. And, for the Ruritan Club, it’s a local promise that weaves their legacy permanently into the future of the Shenandoah Valley, ensuring their commitment to service lives on in every student who rises.

In the words of Bob Scott, “The endowment just keeps on giving year after year, long past our time on this earth.”