UP THE PALAMOUNTAIN
Skidmore benefit raises $280K for scholarships
GREENFIELD, N.Y. » The recent 38th annual Palamountain Scholarship benefit for Skidmore College raised $280,000.
More than 500 people attended the event, called “Polo by Twilight,” at Saratoga Polo Association grounds off Bloomfield Road in Greenfield.
Twenty-two students will receive financial aid at Skidmore College this year in the form of Palamountain Scholarships.
Since the program’s inception, Palamountain funds have helped more than 350 students who otherwise couldn’t afford a Skidmore education, a news release said.
Auction items sold at this year’s event included a day with top Saratoga racehorse trainer Chad Brown, tickets and a backstage pass to “Hello, Dolly!,” a week in a home in St. John, Virgin Islands, a week in a Nantucket cottage and part ownership of a thoroughbred racehorse.
Skidmore graduate and attorney Amy Bergstraesser, from the Class of 2011, was given the Anne T. Palamountain Scholar Award for leadership, service and commitment to the larger good. As a student, she interned with the U.S. Congress, in law school she volunteered in immigration matters, and as a lawyer she has spent weekends providing free advice.
Now she’s an international law fellow with Indiana University’s general counsel.
All proceeds go to the Joseph C. and Anne T. Palamountain Scholarship Fund, named for Skidmore’s fourth president and his wife. The fund now stands at nearly $10 million.