"Absolutely amazing . And the experiences that her scholarship has made possible for me! I have been to England, singing in an ancient cathedral with a time lapse in sound of seven seconds from the front to the back – that was wild! I got to perform an operatic piece with our jazz band, arranged and "jazzed" up. The opera workshop each semester has been great, reinforcing to me every year what I want to do with my music." - Beth Ivory

Those who move through life without the ability to make music find their lives immeasurably enriched by those who can. In a world that views a financial spreadsheet as a measure of value on all things, those who create the music – artists with composer, musician, or storyteller in their souls – depend on the rest of us to nurture their gifts. Just as those who recognized the Mozarts and Bachs of their day, individuals such as Dorothy Fuqua see the fledgling musicians at Presbyterian College as treasures, and delight in helping them grow for the benefit of all.
Mrs. Fuqua has always loved music. As a child she listened to her mother play the church organ and her grandfather sing in the choir. She began taking piano lessons when she was eight years old in what she fondly remembers as a little country town.

“I had a wonderful teacher and was the only one to have a music recital,” she said. “I played classical music.”

She graduated from high school at sixteen, and it was her heart’s desire to go to Georgia College to continue her music education.

“It was during the Depression, though, and we didn’t have that kind of money,” Fuqua said. My daddy cashed in a $200 life insurance policy and put it in the bank. At eighteen I took the $200 and moved to Augusta and entered the Hearst Business College. I wasn’t studying music, but I was the fastest typist they had.”

Dr. Porter Stokes, chairman of PC’s department of music and an expert in the field of sacred music, has difficulty imaging the PC music program without Fuqua or the students her scholarships have brought.

“The gifts from Ms. Fuqua have transformed music at PC, and we are only now beginning to see just how much,” he said. “We were able to attract what may best be described as a ‘critical mass’ of musical students – enough to do all the best things that a comprehensive music department should be doing. The Fuqua legacy brings gifted and talented music majors to campus for the Fuqua Scholarship Competition. Because the awards are so significant, they have attracted an ever-increasing number of serious competitors. Many of these wonderful musicians, even if they do not receive a Fuqua, attend PC on a general music scholarship. The students and faculty attracted to the PC music program have enhanced every area of our department – and that is a rising tide that carries all of us!”

Earlier this year, several Fuqua scholars had a chance to meet their benefactor during a visit she made to PC. For Fuqua, the students were the highlight of the visit. For the students, meeting the person who had made their education at PC possible was a chance to try to express what her scholarship has meant to them.

Beth Ivory, a senior voice performance major from Johnson City, Tenn., took advantage of the opportunity to meet with Mrs. Fuqua – after admitting with a laugh that, at one time, PC wasn’t on her radar screen until her minister, who had a daughter at PC, encouraged her to apply and audition for the Fuqua. Combating a cold and fostering the likelihood she wasn’t going to PC, Ivory nonetheless auditioned.

”The Fuqua audition sold it,” she said. It was like God hit me in the face with a two by four – you need to be here.”

She has wanted to meet Dorothy Fuqua, to have the opportunity to thank her for the opportunity to grow as much as I have. It is rare to get that kind of help with financial aid at a school the size of PC.

Ivory says that sitting with Mrs. Fuqua at lunch one day was "absolutely amazing.”

“And the experiences that her scholarship has made possible for me!” she said. "I have been to England, singing in an ancient cathedral with a time lapse in sound of seven seconds from the front to the back – that was wild! I got to perform an operatic piece with our jazz band, arranged and ‘jazzed’ up. The opera workshop each semester has been great, reinforcing to me every year what I want to do with my music.

“The Fuqua Scholarship made it possible for me to come here. Then, being here made it possible for me to go to graduate school next year. I’ve spent my summers working at the Blue Lake Music Camp, and PC has made me competitive with the very best programs in the country.”

Another Fuqua scholar, senior music major Stephen Humphries, not only performed during a luncheon, but he also served as escort to Mrs. Fuqua as she received the PC Medallion and was named a PC laureate. What Humphries remembers most, however, is the opportunity to talk with her that day and that she wanted to buy one of his CDs.

“When I met Mrs. Fuqua, I was struck by her gentle spirit,” he said.”She was very humble, caring and genuinely interested in who I am as a person. After playing for the luncheon, it was my hope to give her one of my CDs as a gift, but she insisted on paying for it.  My brief meeting with her was an example to me of the Biblical principle that to whom much is given, much will be required. Mrs. Fuqua has lived up to that principle in her service.”

Her gift, said Humphries, has also shown him a future in music.

“The gift of this scholarship is one of the open doors that God has guided me through in the last few years,” he said. "This scholarship helped solidify the decision to attend PC as well as to pursue music; it has both unearthed and developed the passion that lies deep within me to glorify God with music.”