Scholarship adds up to perfect memorial

Julie Cott, Ron's late daughter

Ron Cott, b ed '99, tries to see the best in everyone and every situation, even while he battles through a leg amputation or teaches math to students at risk of dropping out. When his daughter passed away last year, he and his wife, Carol, faced the grief and loss any parent would. It challenged his optimistic outlook.

"This has been a tough journey," Ron said. "I've always been kind of a comedian, but since this happened, I have a little more trouble finding the joy I used to."

Julie, who was 44, was Ron's only daughter, and Carol considered herself Julie's second mother. As time passed, they met with their attorney to rewrite their estate plan.

"We got to thinking after a while, 'Now what do we do with things?'" Ron said.

The attorney asked if they thought about supporting Washburn University, the place where Ron earned a teaching degree as a non-traditional student. They thought that was a great idea.

"What better way to honor Julie than to provide scholarships for kids seeking a degree in education," Ron said.

A gift in their estate plan will create and endow the J.L. Cott Education Scholarship.

"It will be ongoing. Her memory will be ongoing," said Carol, an administrative assistant at Hill's Pet Nutrition. "Julie loved kids, she loved people."

Ron felt aimless as a roadie for rock bands in his 40s before, as he said, he grew up and decided to go to school. Majoring in electrical engineering at a large university, his church asked him to tutor kids in math. Teaching felt natural to him, and in the following years, he transferred to Washburn, met Carol, graduated with an education degree and became a math teacher.

"Growing up, I thought you would have been out of your mind if you ever said I would have been a teacher," Ron said. "Washburn was life-changing for me. It's like my life just went click. I knew at that point teaching was what I was supposed to do."

Retired from Topeka Public Schools, he works part time for Kansas Children's Service League teaching kids who know the public school systems have exhausted all resources on them and this is their last chance to succeed.

His positive attitude toward everyone makes him suited for his career. Many of his past students send him messages about his positive impact on their lives, and Carol reminds him to read them when he's feeling down.

The Cotts have helped individual students in need of an extra boost, and their scholarship will be there to do the same when they're not.

"Those ones who are really trying, who don't have the financial support, we want to be able to provide that if we can," Carol said.

Jeannie Shy, senior director of gift planning and development, Washburn University Alumni Association and Foundation, guided them through setting up the scholarship. They appreciated the ease of the process and how comfortable they felt about it, and Ron said the emotional aspect of being a teacher and helping students while recognizing Washburn's role in his life made sense.

If you're interested in helping future Washburn students through an estate gift and want to learn more, contact Erin Aldridge at PlannedGiving@wualumni.org or 785.670.4483.