A scholarship made Lindenwood College possible for Dr. Carolyn Martin ’70. Decades later, she is helping make new opportunities possible for future generations of students.
From St. Louis, Mo., Martin earned a full scholarship to Lindenwood through the Greater St. Louis Science Fair during her senior year at Hazelwood High School. “I had never thought of attending Lindenwood because my parents could not afford to send me to college without financial aid,” Martin said. After her first campus visit, Martin was “head over heels sold.”
Martin identified her lifelong friends, quality education, and intellectual inquisitiveness as the three most important things she gained at Lindenwood. She recalled her freshman year in Cobbs Hall and subsequent years in Parker Hall. Her fondest memories, however, were the nights spent in Butler Library. Martin remembered the library’s fireplace, rustic architecture, and leather chairs.
After graduating from Lindenwood with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a certification in secondary education, Martin taught ninth grade biology in the Hazelwood School District. She later worked as a research technician before going to medical school and beginning a career that has lasted more than 45 years. Currently employed by Mercy Clinic Maternal Fetal Medicine, Martin said she especially enjoys working with residents and medical students in her division.
Martin has remained connected to Lindenwood through reunion and alumni activities. She also participated in an alumni panel, where she shared guidance with students about career paths and the turns that can shape a professional journey. That lasting connection helped inspire Martin’s support for Lindenwood, including a significant commitment to the Butler Library renovation project. This gift carries personal meaning because Butler Library is one of the places most closely tied to her own Lindenwood experience.
“Lindenwood gave me a great and unexpected chance at higher education with the scholarship that I was awarded,” Martin said. “I had a wonderful experience at Lindenwood and I wanted to be able to give back to the school and help other students to have these same opportunities.”
Martin hopes her giving, along with the support of others, will help students achieve something they otherwise could not. The scholarship that brought Martin to Lindenwood changed what was possible for her. Now, Martin hopes that future students will make memories at Lindenwood that last a lifetime, just as hers have.