A Jumpstart in STEM

Steven (CAS’84) and Diane Rudis endowed an education for this future doctor

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By BU Staff | Photograph by ELI MEIR KAPLAN

As a child in Jamaica, Tiffany Peters thought she’d spend her life on the island. She’d go to the local university, like her friends, then maybe teach. Or she’d work in sales, like her mom, or for the government, like her dad.

Tiffany Peters (CAS'20)
Tiffany Peters (CAS’20) plans to attend medical school.
Photograph by Conor Doherty

Then, when Peters (CAS’20) was 16, she was forced to consider a different future. She and her mother immigrated to the United States seeking new opportunities and settled in Queens, N.Y. A few years later, when it came time to apply for college, Peters, who aspired to pursue scientific research, quickly found BU rising to the top.

“When I looked at how the University spends its money, so much goes to research,” she says. “Then I looked at how much is going on here, and how easy it is to get involved. I really had my heart set on BU. I would have been heartbroken if I couldn’t come.”

While education had always been the family’s top priority and Peters’ parents had been putting some money aside for college, it wasn’t enough.

So much has been opened to me since I came to BU. And without the scholarship, I would never have been able to afford it.

— Tiffany Peters (CAS’20) —

That’s where Steven (CAS’84) and Diane Rudis came in. In 2015, they endowed the Dr. Steven P. and Diane A. Rudis STEM Scholarship Fund for undergraduate women studying science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

Fast Facts on Financial Aid

Although Boston University awards more than $200 million in financial aid each year, it still can’t meet 100 percent of student need. Thanks to generous donors like Steven (CAS’84) and Diane Rudis, the Campaign for Boston University has created nearly 300 scholarships and fellowships to close that gap and help students avoid going heavily into debt.

$52,816

BU undergraduate tuition, 2018–2019

 

$4,185

Average need-based loan

 

84%

Average percentage of need met by BU

 

$31,500

Median debt level for May 2017 BU graduates who borrowed from any source

 

$42,180

Average need-based financial aid package, 2017–2018

 

291

New scholarships and fellowships established during The Campaign for Boston University

 

The couple “wanted to do something for women,” says Rudis, a doctor who specializes in emergency medicine. Together, they decided to focus their efforts on STEM, a field in which women are historically underrepresented. “We were happy to do this,” Rudis says. “I hope more people will donate and help others with an education.”

Peters, who’s majoring in molecular biology and biochemistry with a minor in deaf studies, says the scholarship has been life-changing. “So much has been opened to me since I came to BU,” she says. “And without the scholarship, I would never have been able to afford it.”

She plans to attend medical school and pursue a residency in a hospital “that specializes in treating deaf people.” Then, she might go into primary care or gynecology—and perhaps even return to the Caribbean.

“There’s not a lot of help for people with disabilities in Jamaica,” she says. “If I ever got the chance, I would go home and practice in Jamaica, in primary care. There are so many places that need it. And if I could do it for free, I would.”