Our Mother, Mary Rocco-Maitland was a force. Anyone who knew her knew what a kind, compassionate, strong woman she was. She left such an impact on everyone she crossed paths with in this life. We always knew how special she was but after her death, so many of you came forward with stories and examples of just how much of an impact she made on you and your lives.

She had a love for animals. She was the Equine and Animal Science teacher at Madison Oneida BOCES for almost 30 years. A job that she valued and loved every day. She spent countless hours mentoring students and advocating for those who could not advocate for themselves. She was heavily involved helping those with physical, developmental and mental disabilities. She created and nurtured programs to provide equine assisted and other forms of therapy. She put an emphasis on the importance of mental health and being a kind, inclusive human being.

If you had the pleasure of knowing her, you know that she welcomed everyone with open arms. Always offering support, advocacy, a listening ear, life advice and even a meatball (or 12) or a delicious meal whenever she could. Food was her love language and she made sure you never left her home without a full belly and a happy heart.

When she passed away unexpectedly in 2016, it left a void in so many lives. As her children, we knew right away that we wanted to do something to allow her legacy to live on. We created the Mary E Rocco Maitland Equine Scholarship Fund. We received so many generous donations following her death. Those donations allowed us to award a student from the Equine and Animal Science class a scholarship in her name every year.

We based the qualifications to apply for the scholarship upon the following qualities: A love and respect for animals. A passion for the industry. Academic accomplishments. A commitment to continuing education (or being a lifelong learner as she would have put it). Possessing leadership qualities. The ability to overcome adversity. Being a kind, inclusive and empathetic human.

The students apply every year and we then sit down and go over the applications together and choose one who we think is most deserving of the scholarship. The student must be attending college or continuing on into an associated career.

We have awarded this scholarship for the past 9 years. Sadly, the funds have diminished and we would like nothing more than to continue offering this gift to future students who exude the best qualities that our mother possessed.

We are asking for your help to allow this scholarship to continue on in her name. We have some ideas for the future to raise funds to contribute to the account. We wanted to put this out there to allow anyone who would like make a donation, the opportunity to do so. We appreciate all of the initial and continued outpouring of love and support that we have received. We know she is looking down, smiling and is very proud. She would be happy to know that her memory is always with us.

Sincerely,

Shannon, Philip & Samantha and families