Bill Dickinson spent much of his early life navigating the U.S. foster system, moving between various orphanages and foster homes until he left just before turning 16 years-old. As a member of UC Santa Cruz’s pioneering class in 1965, he is considered to be the first former foster youth to attend the university. Over three decades later, Dickinson (Cowell ’68, philosophy) founded the Page and Eloise Smith Scholastic Society at UC Santa Cruz to support students who, like him, arrived on campus with little or no support.
The Smith Society celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and has provided support to about 600 students so far.
“For a very long time, when people would refer to us as a family, I objected and said, ‘No, we're a scholastic society,’” Dickinson said. “Well, now I've surrendered. We're a family.”
Founded in 1999 at Cowell College, the Smith Society is a vital community that provides scholarships, mentorship, and a familial support network for students from disadvantaged or non-traditional homes. UC Santa Cruz was the first UC to establish a system of this kind, facilitating the transition of disadvantaged youth to a university setting and providing practical support for them once enrolled. It has since become a model for the other nine UC schools.
“For those of us who have power, it’s important to use it to solve problems that students don't have the power to solve themselves,” Dickinson said.
Cowell College Provost Alan Christy emphasized the meaningful impact the Smith Society has on the UCSC community, students, and alumni.
“The motto of Cowell College is ‘the pursuit of truth in the company of friends,’ Christy said. “ I think the way that the Smith Society demonstrates the company of friends, as an ethical imperative, is really important to Cowell College. Everyone needs reminders of what that means and how to do that, and I think the Smith Society holds that up very high.”
The society was named after Page and Eloise Smith, who were key mentors for Dickinson during his time as a student at UCSC.
Page, a distinguished American historian, teacher, and author, was the founding provost of Cowell College. Eloise, an accomplished artist and community leader, partnered with her husband in nurturing a creative, imaginative, caring college environment.
Dickinson saw creating the Page and Eloise Smith Scholarship as a way to pass on the Smiths’ spirit and UCSC’s founding student-centered values in service to deserving students.
Coastal science and policy master’s student Chamonix Toledo (’23, ecology and evolutionary biology) volunteers with the Smith Society in her free time and has a strong passion for mentorship. She joined the Smith Society as an undergraduate at UCSC and is now the youngest person to have served on the society’s board of directors. She is creating a peer mentoring program to connect younger Smith Society students with third or fourth years, transfer students, or graduate students.
Toledo grew up in a nontraditional household without the support of two parents to help her enter the academic system. After transferring to UCSC from a community college, Toledo received an invitation to join the Smith Society.
“What initially drew me in was this community of people working alongside you to help you throughout your academic journey,” she said. “They provided funding, support, resources, and a team of people who are your personal champions.”
Through the Smith Society, Toledo received funding and support to study abroad in Corsica, France, attend conferences, and pursue research opportunities and fellowships. She was awarded the Denise Denton DEI award in STEM for her research and dedication to supporting underrepresented communities. Toledo was recently named the 2024 QUAD fellow for her work in conservation.
“They [Smith Society] support you in a way tailored to you as an individual, your interests, dreams, and passions, ” Toledo said. “The support was unwavering. I really benefited as an undergraduate, and they continue to help me launch my career.”
Nurturing an intergenerational community
Dickinson sees the Smith Society as an intergenerational community of friends—something that far surpasses the confines of a typical university program. From those that joined the Smith Society in its founding to its most recent graduates and everyone in between, those that join the community often stay connected, and have a desire to give back.
Since graduating from UCSC, Colleen Langan (Porter ’06, anthropology) has regularly donated to the Smith Society, which relies on philanthropic support for continuity. Currently the vice president treasury management officer at JPMorgan Chase & Co, Langan finds joy in helping others and wants to help Smith Society students who face a similar situation that she once did.
A week after Langan graduated high school, her mother became unable to care for Langan or her younger sister, leaving the two with zero financial support. Langan was faced with the possibility of not being able to pursue a college degree, so she picked up the phone and called UC Santa Cruz’s Financial Aid Office.
“I was faced with a choice at that point in time,” Langan said. “I didn’t have any family or money to go to school, and I really wanted to go. I don’t know what possessed me to pick up the phone and call UCSC; I was only 18 and very shy.”
The phone call led the Financial Aid Office to set Langan up with grants and loans to help her afford tuition and housing while at UCSC. After a second phone call, Langan found the Smith Society.
“I joined Smith and met other students who were like me and had adults in my life who were willing to support me with no strings attached,” Langan said. “They were there for me and helped guide me. It allowed me to feel more comfortable and do things slightly outside my comfort zone.”
As part of the Smith Society, Langan was active in outreach efforts to local foster youth, encouraging them to consider college in the future, and interned at a local news station in her final year at UCSC. Langan says she is grateful for the many opportunities the Smith Society provided her, and is glad to donate and give back as an alumna.
Langan remains in contact with Bill Dickinson, with whom she shares a birthday. Dickinson says he is grateful to remain in contact with Smith Society alumni and be a part of their lives.
“Every young person who is known by somebody whose primary reason for being in your life is to help you thrive as a university student, the odds are much better that you’re going to thrive as a university student.”
Dickinson, who has walked alongside the Smith Society since its founding, is ready to take a step back. He is hopeful that the intergenerational community of friends will find more volunteers and supporters in the coming years. Cowell College Provost Alan Christy is proud to call Cowell College the Smith Society’s home.
“The organization as a whole is at a transitional moment,” Christy said. “A founding generation of people are in retirement, and it would be good to have new generations of people coming in with the kind of commitment that the founding generation had to keep this thing going.”
The Smith Society is in need of volunteers. If you are interested in engaging with the Smith Society and helping students without a traditional support system, visit the Smith Society website.
