Liam O'Neill Is the 2023 Scholarship Recipient

June 01, 2023 by Joseph Neu

A big congratulations to Liam O’Neill, the 2023 Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship recipient. Liam was honored on Tuesday at the Davis Senior High School Senior Awards Night, along with proud parents, and presented the scholarship by our sister, Jennifer Thoits, with an assist from our father, Dennis Neu.

Sparking creativity and music

Liam credits Fairfield with helping to spark his creativity— having fond memories of playing in the treehouse, art projects— and love of music, thanks to the music program with Linda Book and Keith Cary. Liam also recalls playing piano for Mrs. Neu at our home in Davis. This is also part of Liam’s future, as Liam will attend the School of Music at San Francisco State University this fall. Liam wants to perform, produce soundtracks for games and films and work as a foley artist and sound designer. We are proud to have the scholarship help Liam pursue this passion.

Both a student and a volunteer

Mary Ryan was Liam’s teacher while attending Fairfield in 2009-2010. However, Liam also volunteered alongside his mom in Mrs. Neu’s last school year in 2008-2009, seen below, with his brother.

As students going forward will have had at best peripheral experience with Mrs. Neu, we were glad to see Liam share fond memories of our mother from this volunteer period in his application. “She was more than a teacher—she felt like family,” Liam said.

Congratulations, Liam! All the best with your music studies and other future endeavors.

Congratulations Zane Pickus

May 01, 2022 by Joseph Neu

Zane Pickus is our 2022 scholarship recipient. Congratulations, Zane!

The Neu Family also wants to thank all the 2022 applicants, who were the last to attend Fairfield during Mrs Neu’s tenure. We wish you all well.

A big impact with birds

One of the things that set Zane’s application apart is how well he articulated the role Fairfield and Mrs Neu played in his life. Fairfield clearly had a big impact on Zane. Foremost is his love of birds.

”When I was in kindergarten at Fairfield Elementary, I was incredibly lucky to have Mrs. Neu introduce me to the birds of our schoolyard and beyond. Mrs. Neu would bring in giant tubs of bird books, including Peterson Field Guides and National Geographic books, and let us look through them. My classmates and I would spend hours thumbing through field guides and looking at paintings and photographs of birds from all over the world. When we went out into the vast Fairfield schoolyard, Mrs. Neu would point out local birds to our class.”

Zane took his love of birds to become a youth liaison and then a full board member of the Yolo Audubon Society. He also participated in numerous birding and bird research projects, including with UC Davis.

it seems fitting then that Zane plans to attend the University of California, Davis this fall. “Majoring in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology will give me a chance to continue my study of birds and wildlife, and learn how to make an impact in the natural world,” he says.

The scholarship application also gave Zane the opportunity to look back on the impact Mrs Neu had on him.

“I had always imagined that I would apply for this scholarship, and sitting down to write my application gave me the opportunity to truly reflect on and appreciate the importance of her influence on me.

Encouraging written correspondence was a big part of Mrs Neu’s curriculum

A key part of Mrs Neu’s teachings was the importance of written correspondence. Zane took this to heart.

After my kindergarten year, Mrs. Neu offered her students a challenge to write her postcards over the summer, promising to write back if we wrote at least five sentences. I did this, and would eagerly check the mail in the hopes of getting a letter or postcard from her in return. She never failed to write me back in a remarkably timely manner.

Zane also points out what an incredible role model Mrs Neu was: “Her kindness, respectfulness, and subtle strictness inspired me to be the best person I could be, each and every day.” Mrs Neu would be proud of the person Zane has grown to become, already, at this stage in his life.

Again, congratulations to Zane, we wish you all the best.

2022 Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship Deadline and Application - There is Still Time

March 05, 2022 by Joseph Neu

There is still time to apply for the Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship. The deadline is April 1.

Again, we want to make sure that Fairfield alumni, potential applicants and Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship Fund supporters are aware that the scholarship continues to grow and is bigger than ever this year.

The 2022 Scholarship Grant Award is $4,250.

Applications are available via the Davis Senior High School Career Center Scholarship Bulletin (we are checking with Julie Clayton to make sure the forms reflect the updated grant amount).

You can also download the form here.

The application deadline is April 1.

Email the completed application, transcript and any additional materials on or before April 1, 2022 to: Davis Senior High School Career Center at jclayton@djusd.net.

To qualify, you must submit the application and related materials by the deadline and:

Have attended Fairfield Elementary School in Davis, California (part of the DJUSD) and be able to provide evidence of such attendance satisfactory to the fund’s Selection Committee
Agree to use any Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship Fund scholarship award solely for tuition and/or fees, books and supplies at a valid educational institution for the educational purpose identified in the application form.

Henry Stem is the 2021 Scholarship Recipient

May 16, 2021 by Joseph Neu

Congratulations to Henry Stem! Henry is the recipient of the 2021 Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship.

Henry attended Fairfield from 2008 to 2011. One of his favorite memories is discovering a love of stamp collecting. “Mrs. Neu had massive tubs filled with all kinds of stamps to collect,” he recalls, “but to preserve the quality of the stamp you had to use tweezers, and not touch the stamp itself.” A happy moment was when he found a stamp of the Wright Brothers plane— but it was the error, upside-down stamp that was very rare. Mrs. Neu also gave Henry his love for reading and Fig Newtons: when she read My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett she brought in Fig Newtons because Elmer, the protagonist, eats Fig Newtons in one of the later books. “I've loved fig newtons since then,” Henry says.

Henry plans to attend Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon this fall. He is interested in studying history and environmental studies. His past participation in badminton and Ultimate Frisbee will likely serve him well. We wish Henry all the best!

2021 Scholarship Deadline and Application

March 18, 2021 by Joseph Neu

This has been a very busy and crazy year for us as it has been for everyone. However, we did want to make sure that Fairfield alumni and Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship Fund supporters were aware that a scholarship will not only be rewarded this year, but it is bigger than ever.

The 2021 Scholarship Grant Award is $3,330.

Applications have been available via the Davis Senior High School Career Center Scholarship Bulletin for a couple of months.

You can also download the form here.

The application deadline is April 2.

Email the completed application, transcript and any additional materials on or before April 2, 2021 to: Davis Senior High School Career Center at jclayton@djusd.net.

To qualify, you must submit the application and related materials by the deadline and:

Have attended Fairfield Elementary School in Davis, California (part of the DJUSD)and be able to provide evidence of such attendance satisfactory to the fund’s Selection Committee
Agree to use any Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship Fund scholarship award solely for tuition and/or fees, books and supplies at a valid educational institution for the educational purpose identified in the application form.

Tomorrow is also Mrs Neu’s birthday (she would have been 81). Happy birthday, Mom!

Stay safe and well.

Congratulations to Avery Permenter!

June 07, 2020 by Joseph Neu

On behalf of the entire Neu Family, I congratulate Avery Permenter, the 2020 recipient of the Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship!

According to Avery:

“This scholarship will help me attend UC Davis in the fall. I am excited and honored to have received the Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship. I hope that I have made her proud.”

She plans to pursue a degree in dairy science and one day open a goat creamery. She then wants to be an educator just like Mrs Neu and teach students about dairy science.

Avery credits Fairfield Elementary, which she attended from 2007-2011, with giving her an early opportunity to explore science, especially on science days. There was also a connection to agricultural education and livestock care, with annual farm visits. These clearly made a lasting impression.

We look forward to hearing about your future success! Mrs Neu is surely proud.

May 1 is the New Scholarship Deadline

April 06, 2020 by Joseph Neu

This just in from Julie Clayton at Davis High School who administers our scholarship:

The new deadline for students to email their application(s) to Julie Clayton is May 1.

This date was chosen to allow time to notify students of the revised submission process. It also gives students the opportunity to adjust to the new Distance Learning program they will begin on April 13, without the stress of an April scholarship deadline.

Please see this post for more information and the application form.

2020 Scholarship Application Form - Deadline

March 19, 2020 by Joseph Neu

Today would have been Mrs Neu’s 80th birthday, so it seems like a good day to finally get the 2020 Scholarship Application Form posted. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Apologies for the delay. With all that is going on with COVID-19, and we hope you and yours are safe and well, it is easy to forget that when things return to normal (or some semblance of normal), some of us will be thinking of heading off to college.

For those who attended Fairfield Elementary School in the Davis Joint Unified School District, there is the opportunity to apply for the Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship to help pay for it.

This year’s scholarship grant is $2,570.

Click here to download the scholarship application form. [The non-form pdf is here]

As you may know, the Davis Joint Unified School District has closed all schools from March 16 – April 12 in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The deadline for students to submit scholarship applications is April 3 (and this is true for the Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship, too). Because the Career Center will be closed, students will not be able to submit their applications directly to Judy Clayton, who administers the scholarships, by the deadline.

While the expectation, last week, was a return to school on April 13, this may be optimistic. Accordingly, it is probably best to submit these by email as close to the deadline as possible.

Davis Senior High School Career Center
315 W 14th St, Davis, CA 95616
(530) 757-5400, ext. 140
Attention: Julie Clayton
jclayton@djusd.net

Julie and the scholarship selection committee will then do their best to process applications as soon as they can.

UPDATE:

The new deadline for students to email their application(s) to Julie Clayton is May 1.

This date was chosen to allow time to notify students of the revised submission process. It also gives students the opportunity to adjust to the new Distance Learning program they will begin on April 13, without the stress of an April scholarship deadline.

Congratulations to Jillian Fahey!

May 05, 2019 by Joseph Neu

Davis Senior High School’s Scholarship Committee has chosen Jillian Fahey as the recipient of the Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship this year. She will be formally awarded the scholarship on Senior Awards Night on Tuesday, June 4 at 6:00 p.m.

There were several outstanding applicants for the scholarship this year and we thank all for applying.

Jillian stood out for her academic and extracurricular activities, as well as her portrait of her time at Fairfield.

The most special memory I have from Fairfield was my ability to carelessly wander about the gardens. My little feet scampering about with a joyous hop because of the delightful suspense of freshly grown snacks. Whenever I would raid my garden for an after lunch snack I would feel a wave of pure contentment wash over my body from my little pigtails to my multi colored toes, that I insisted upon painting. I stuck my tiny fingers deep into the soil to grab a carrot and ate it straight out of the ground. I can still taste the sweet crunch with a hint of dirt that would make my mouth feel dry, although it didn't matter to me because I was fortunate enough to snag a carrot before they were all gone.

Jillian attended Fairfield from 2006-2010. She had Mrs. Neu her first two years and credits her with influencing her writing and interest in others’ well-being:

I spent some of my favorite summer' afternoons writing a letter to Mrs. Neu, telling myself that it had to be perfect for her. The excitement I felt to receive a note back was indescribable. She helped challenge me to write and create communication as a kindergartner, which was a tough feat.
Mrs. Neu always encouraged me to try my best and keep working at reading and writing when I didn't always gain skills as quickly as my classmates because of my Dyslexia. Mrs. Neu's early influence on my young self can only be rivaled by her later powerful influence,when I came back to visit her. Every time I came over, no matter how long ago my last visit was, she always lit up as she saw my face and remembered fun details about me. She made me feel important with her soft smile and her endless interest in my well being.

Jillian drew upon Mrs. Neu’s influence to write a book about an experience with social media bullying for her Girl Scout Gold Award. This took her on a journey to participate in the Building a Resilient Yolo (County) “Be the One” campaign, promoting the idea that one small, positive action can begin a trickle effect that can help people.

Jillian plans to study biology in college and aspires to become a wildlife veterinarian. She was inspired by an internship at the UCD Neurosurgery Lab, work at the Sacramento Zoo and a family trip to Costa Rica.

Congratulations Jillian, we wish you well.

2019 Scholarship - It's Application Time!

March 10, 2019 by Joseph Neu

The Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship is now accepting applications for 2019.

The application deadline is April 5, 2019.

This year’s grant award is $1,850.

Again, to be eligible for consideration to receive a Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship, you must:

Have attended Fairfield Elementary School in Davis, California (part of the DJUSD) and be able to provide evidence of such attendance satisfactory to the fund’s Selection Committee;
Complete and sign the Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship Fund Application Form and submit it together with a recent transcript and at least one letter of recommendation the fund’s Selection Committee before the applicable annual submission date, as provided on the application form; and
Agree to use any Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship Fund scholarship award solely for tuition and/or fees, books and supplies at a valid educational institution for the educational purpose identified in the application form.

How to Apply

Complete and sign the attached Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship Grant Application, including your most recent academic transcript and one or more letters of recommendation.

Note: We would prefer receiving applications in a digital format, provided that it includes a scan of the manually signed signature page. We will also accept hard copy submissions.
Submit the completed application, transcript and any additional materials on or before
April 5, 2019 to:

Davis Senior High School Career Center
315 W 14th St, Davis, CA 95616
Attention: Julie Clayton
(530) 757-5400, ext. 140
jclayton@djusd.net

If you have questions about the application or the application process, please contact Julie Clayton or the Davis Senior High School Career Center at the contact information above.