SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College hosted the 39th annual Polo by Twilight event to benefit the Palamountain Scholarship Fund on Tuesday, July 24, at the Saratoga Polo Fields on Bloomfield Road in Greenfield Center, New York. All proceeds from the Palamountain Scholarship event benefited the Joseph C. and Anne T. Palamountain Scholarship Fund, created and named to honor Skidmore’s late president and his wife for their 23 years of dedicated service and leadership at the College. The scholarship benefit began in 1979 by Anne Palamountain to raise money for students who require financial assistance to attend Skidmore College.
“Anne’s greatest passion was building endowment for financial aid, which she saw as the most effective way to make a college education accessible to all students,” said Dr. Philip A. Glotzbach, President of Skidmore College.
“Anne championed the benefit event for 35 years, helping the Joseph C. and Anne T. Palamountain Scholarship Fund reach a total of $5.8 million,” Glotzbach continued.
The fund supports financially eligible juniors and seniors whose outstanding academic records and co-curricular service exemplify the unique contribution that the Palamountains have made to Skidmore College. The fund has enabled hundreds of students to attend and graduate from Skidmore. Skidmore alumnus, Eleuterio “Ele” Martinez Ramirez, class of 2018, is the fifth Anne T. Palamountain Scholar Award recipient. In 2008, Ramirez made the difficult choice to leave his family and community in Oaxaca, Mexico because of political violence and lack of educational opportunities to pursue a better life. When he came to Saratoga Springs at age 14, Ramirez did not speak English. He worked for two years before deciding that he needed to resume his education to meet his goals in life. He was accepted into Skidmore’s Pre-College Program while he was a senior at Saratoga Springs High School. Ramirez, who graduated in May from Skidmore with a major in math and minor in physics, plans to pursue a career in engineering. He completed a summer internship with General Electric in his sophomore year, and last summer he went back to his hometown in Mexico to teach young students photography skills. This summer he will go back to teach math and computer skills to students at his childhood school, truly following Anne Palamountain’s example of always giving back to the community.
“Behind every success, there is hard work and sacrifice. My time at Skidmore College has been a hard journey, but thanks to my mentors and professors, and to self-motivation, I am where I am today,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez’s plans to teach young students in his hometown will be supported by funding he received from a SEE-Beyond Award from Skidmore, which will bring much-needed resources to his community and allow him to significantly improve the education offered to students. SEE-Beyond Awards invite students to apply their academic learning to realworld challenges and aim to help them clarify the interrelationship between their educational and post-baccalaureate goals.
“I have not forgotten my roots and the need to give back to my community in Oaxaca, Mexico. I give my most sincere thanks to Anne Palamountain and all who have contributed to the Palmountain Scholarship Fund for these great opportunities that I have had at Skidmore College,” Ramirez said.
The 2018 Polo by Twilight event began with a reception and The Palamountain Cup Polo Match, followed by a silent auction and a gourmet dinner prepared by Skidmore College’s award-winning chefs. For more information, visit skidmore.edu/palamountainbenefit.
