The First Scholarship Recipient

Congratulations to Liam Schroth, the first recipient of the Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship!

We are very excited to have the first scholarship recipient named. My father and sister will be there when Liam is honored at the Davis Senior High School Senior Awards Night on Tuesday, May 30 at the Richard Brunelle Theater. His story is one of finding your passion and speaks to how important it is to keep sailing even when conditions aren't the best for you.

Liam attended Fairfield School from 2004-2008. Mrs Neu was his teacher for K-1 and he had Mrs Ryan for 2-3. Liam's brother Adam also attended Fairfield from 2006-2010, which shows that Liam's parents Brian Schroth and Leslie Anastassatos were Fairfield fans. Liam certainly was: 

“Fairfield was the most intimate school I ever attended. I doubt I’ll every experience running around in a large field with hundreds of kids whose names I know all of again at any other school. This was always a tradition at community events at the school. Everyone would run out on the grass field and play tag or any other game that everybody could participate in equally.”

Asked about how a teacher made a difference in his life, Liam noted the following:

“Mrs Neu was determined not to let any single student feel left behind or waiting ahead. She didn’t compromise to one-size-fits-all standards. When we were learning to read, we would sit down with a book and try to learn until we knew enough words to read it ourselves. We weren’t sitting in rows of desks in a dungeon reading until we met the requirements; we sat down and read what she believed we could read. . . . When I excelled at reading faster than most of the kids in the class, Mrs Neu didn’t tell me to wait or to ‘hang out’ and enjoy being ahead. She simply gave me another book and sent me back to my seat. This method of teaching taught me that I can do anything and that the limits teachers will place on my learning environment can never truly stifle someone with genuine enthusiasm.”

Mrs Neu would surely be proud to see that Liam was able to embrace learning with enthusiasm even after experiencing challenges with his learning environment.  

“Throughout high school, I learned that I am not the kind of person who high school was designed with in mind. I found that the traditional classroom environment doesn’t suit me as well as some other learning styles and that I don’t always have the same motivation as those around me. . . . While most of the students in my class found their groove and started pumping out A’s before high school started, it took me several years to find mine, and I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process. Over the years, I’ve accepted that that’s alright and that once I find something that truly motivates me, it’ll all get easier.”

Upon graduation from Davis Senior High School, Liam plans to major in computer science after recently discovering a passion for computers by learning to create home servers to stream music and host games from some old computers lying around his house. He taught himself how to set them up using online tutorials and this led to taking programming, network and server administration courses at Sacramento City College. He plans to attend Sonoma State University after graduation. Liam is looking forward to college as an environment to meet new people and apply what he has learned about himself.

Liam already has a sense for the type of job he wants after college:

“I have had the chance to evaluate what kind of work I prefer: what exhausts me more, what is more fulfilling, what is the least monotonous.”

Liam is also enthusiastic about sailing. He learned to sail in local sailing clubs (Lake Washington and Stonegate) and participated in summer programs to help the instructors. This has led to him being named lead instructor for both sailing clubs this summer. It has always been his dream to work with sailboats in the bay area and he hopes to find a sailing job while in college. 

“While I love computers and want to become as employable as possible in that industry, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for sailing.”

There is a lot in Liam's application that makes him a great choice for the first Barbara Neu Memorial Scholarship. Liam, we hope it helps you find some wind at your back, but don't ever lose your courage to sail into headwinds.