The Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools has a long history of providing pertinent and highly sought-after scholarship opportunities to Eden Prairie students. Many of our scholarships are born out of the passion of alumni and their families and many of these scholarships are directed by the families to a particular interest that their student had while at Eden Prairie Schools or to commemorate qualities that a family sees in their own student and wishes to celebrate and embrace in others.
This year, The Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools has received a new endowment named the Boyd-Estall Endowment. This endowment will fund two special scholarships for students who are close to the family’s heart. In creating this endowment, John Estall stated, “My wife, Shirley, and I have lived in Eden Prairie for 35 years. We have raised our two children here and they received an impressive start in life, including a great education from the Eden Prairie Schools. As a family, we have been very fortunate, and we would like to give back to the community so others may also reach their full potential.” One half of the Boyd-Estall Family Endowment will grant two $1,000 scholarships each year to graduating high school seniors who identify as LGBTQ+ or LGBTQ+ allies. 
The other half of the endowment is for students who want to participate in the Eden Prairie Soccer Association. Those funds will help to offset expenses incurred by families for registration fees, equipment, and any other out-of-pocket expenses a child’s family would ordinarily incur in order for their student to participate in soccer.
FEPS Executive Director, Dr. Lisa Sisinni, says of the scholarships, “The FEPS Board of Directors and I are so excited about the addition of the Boyd-Estall Family LGBTQ+ and Allies Scholarship and the Boyd-Estall Soccer Scholarship since they reach a new segment of Eden Prairie students. Any time we can reach a new segment of our student population and provide more opportunities for engagement with fellow students and/or post-secondary education financial assistance, it becomes an exciting prospect to think how these scholarships can have an everlasting and positive impact for students’ current lives and future careers and life.”
In its inaugural year, two Eden Prairie High School seniors who identify as LGBTQ+ or as an LGBTQ+ ally will be awarded $1,000 each for post-secondary education. The Eden Prairie Soccer Association will use the funds they receive through the endowment to address a variety of financial assistance requests from their players.
We are so grateful to Shirley Boyd and John Estall and their children for inspiring a new generation of Eden Prairie life-long learners who now have the ability to embrace new opportunities during and after high school. FEPS looks forward to awarding the first recipients of The Boyd-Estall Family Scholarships in May and seeing more high school youth on the soccer field this spring.
