Donald and Zoe Gellman join their son Mark at his graduation from Indiana University.
Mark Gellman has chosen to honor the end of his term as a Scholarship Foundation board member by giving other students the same help that he received in college. Mark credits The Scholarship Foundation as being an integral part of allowing him to complete his degree. His passion for the mission of the Foundation has been evident in his service on the board over the past three years. “We’ve been blessed, and it’s special to be able to give back,” Mark says.
Mark’s parents, Donald and Zoe Gellman, met as students at Clayton High School. They raised their family in Creve Coeur where Mark attended Parkway North High School. The family experienced financial difficulties when Mark was in high school. The Scholarship Foundation was able to help him pay for college at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University where he earned a degree in accounting. Mark’s graduation from college made his father very proud. Sadly, Don Gellman died just 18 months later.
Like his parents, Mark and his wife met in high school while attending Parkway North. Wendy Gellman is active in the community, serving on the audit committee at Jewish Federation. She has also been a member on the board of the J Associates. Wendy and Mark have three children: eleven- year-old Lily; Claire, a freshman at the University of Alabama; and Tyler, a junior at the University of Arizona.
In 2007, after many years of specializing in retail, including starting a pre-Zappos online shoe company, Mark decided to pursue real estate full time. His brother, Neil, joined six months later and they created The Gellman Team, which specializes in residential real estate in St. Louis, St. Charles, and Jefferson Counties.
Zoe Gellman, Mark Gellman, and Foundation Executive Director Faith Sandler at the announcement of the new DSL on June 4, 2019
Together, Mark and Wendy have established a Designated Scholar Loan to honor Mark’s parents. Zoe joined Mark when he announced the DSL at the June 4, 2019 Scholarship Foundation board meeting. When describing the honor, Zoe told her son “Dad would be bursting with pride, as I am. How beautiful to leave a lasting name for us forever.”
The Zoe and Donald Gellman Designated Scholar Loan will support a graduate of Parkway North High School who attends a four-year out-of-state school. The Gellmans imagine that the student may be from a family that has encountered similar financial hardships as Mark’s parents encountered when he was looking at colleges. Mark says that The Scholarship Foundation was there for him, and he and Wendy foresee the Foundation bridging the financial gap of the student supported through their DSL.
Interested students should go to MyScholarshipCentral.org, follow the instructions to complete the General Application and then submit the supplemental application for the Scholarship Foundation Interest-Free Student Loan. Completed applications and all required supporting documents must be submitted by April 15, 2024. Awards will be announced in June.
