UC Merced students pursuing degrees in chemical sciences now have access to a new source of financial support, thanks to a gift from two of the university’s most dedicated advocates.
Alumna Laura Showalter ’16, ’18 and UC Merced Foundation Diplomat Dr. Jane Binger have established the Showalter Binger Scholarship to assist promising students who demonstrate passion and perseverance on their journeys to becoming future scientific leaders.
Showalter, who graduated from UC Merced with a double major in chemical sciences and management followed by a master’s in chemistry and chemical biology, remembers the stress of needing to be on the deferred tuition payment plan and always working to make the next payment to get through school. She said that creating a scholarship at her alma mater had been on her mind for a very long time.
“There are a variety of ways that I’m giving, but in my heart, I wanted to give more,” she said. “A scholarship was something I had dreamed about doing further down the line, but I thought, ‘What if I could support some people now? Why not give a little until I can give a lot? Why not start to have an impact now?’”
The idea for the scholarship further expanded when Showalter brought up the concept to Binger, whom she first met as an undergraduate. Binger, along with her husband Dr. Bob Bernstein, are longtime UC Merced supporters who have respectively served as a UC Merced Foundation Diplomat and Trustee since 2004.
Among Binger’s many service contributions to the campus, she has worked extensively with the Center for Career and Professional Advancement. She has helped coach Grad Slam finalists in refining their presentations for the University of California competition and for years has offered mock interviews to assist students in preparing for real-world interactions.
Binger and Showalter first worked together as part of a mock-interview session, with the mentorship experience developing into a lasting friendship and professional camaraderie that continues today.
“My friend and I started a nonprofit called DeepTok, which helps community-college and university students meet their goals. I would think of Laura when I needed an example of a tremendous resume or when I started a series of course maps. She is very inspiring to me, so we kept in touch and have worked together at DeepTok,” explained Binger. “We were talking, and she happened to mention her plan of giving back to UC Merced. When she told me her concept for a scholarship, I immediately said, ‘I’ll do that with you if you want.’”
The unique partnership in co-establishing the scholarship is rooted not only in Showalter and Binger’s commitment to mitigating economic hardship for aspiring scientists but also in their shared hope to motivate individuals whose personal grit enables them to overcome past challenges and empowers them to achieve their goals.
Showalter and Binger’s examples of resilience and grittiness are evident in their own notable accomplishments while facing adversity. A Merced native, Showalter graduated from high school when she was just 14 years old and enrolled in a community college full-time before transferring to UC Merced. During her last semester as an undergraduate, she took a course overload of 20 units, worked several part-time jobs and was selected as her graduating class’s commencement speaker. As she was navigating those multiple priorities, her father’s health was rapidly declining.
“He was very sick, and we believed it was stage-four cancer at the time, so the thought of spending time on schoolwork to get through finals week instead of spending time with him was agonizing,” she said. “But he always had been my biggest cheerleader. He told me more than anything else, he wanted me to finish strong and that nothing would make him happier.”
Driven by her father’s encouragement, Showalter powered through her physical and emotional exhaustion and completed the semester, earning straight As and delivering a successful commencement speech. Although her father was too ill to attend the graduation ceremony, he eventually received a proper diagnosis, and the resulting treatment led to his gradual recovery.
“Everything ended up going well, but in that moment, when I was overwhelmed and confronted with that heavy toll, I depended on grit,” said Showalter. “I define grit as the ability to look at the path in front of you and take the next step, even when it’s difficult or things keep knocking you down.”
For Binger, grit is a trait she experienced firsthand growing up, as well as a quality that she proffers as a “differentiator” when speaking to her professional coaching clientele, which includes physician leaders, executives, and students.
“I’m from a family of grit, so I have quite a bit of it myself,” she said. “My mother was from a small rural town and the first in her family to become a college graduate and doctor. My father was a first-generation student from the San Joaquin Valley, who left home at 11 and started working in fields, vineyards and with livestock to put himself through junior high, high school, college and eventually the dental school at the University of the Pacific.
“To me, grit is when you just keep going when you hit a bump in the road,” she continued. “It is seeing problems as just a temporary part of your journey. It’s seeing yourself in the big picture when you hit a bump, and sticking with your goals, even when they get hard and when you're hitting more bumps than you expected.”
Showalter and Binger are hopeful that their joint scholarship will serve as a testament to their unwavering confidence in UC Merced students, whose ability to persevere, succeed and thrive despite in some cases the instability and uncertainty of their circumstances reflects the specialness of the campus community.
“Jane and I want our future scholars to know we believe in them, we care about them, and that the world needs their unique talents,” said Showalter. “We hope this scholarship reduces their financial stress and helps them continue on their journeys.”
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