Student-created scholarship benefits overlooked students

To many, a butterfly is nothing more than a colorful insect, but to the Zajdel family, it represents much more.

With the help of his family, Pitt students and siblings Sean andLindsay Zajdel started the Michelle Zajdel Butterfly Project. He hopes to raise $10,000 for a student scholarship in honor of his sister, who had Turner syndrome — a chromosomal irregularity that results in a number of physical abnormalities, including short height. The scholarship will be awarded to one future Pitt applicant who has the potential for great success but hasn’t been fully appreciated throughout his or her life, like Sean’s sister Michelle.

Sean described Michelle as an extremely intelligent person who spoke her mind. But the teasing she encountered because of her short stature made her feel different and resulted in depression and insomnia. Consequently, many of her great qualities weren’t appreciated to the extent that they should have.

In July 2008, Michelle Zajdel passed away. Although her family declined to comment on the specific details regarding her passing, Sean said he believes bullying and insomnia were contributing factors.

“The constant bullying she faced resulted in a big accident that took her life,” Sean said.

After Michelle’s death, the Zajdel family noticed that butterflies were frequently around them. At one point while the family was outside, a butterfly sat on Sean’s sister Lindsay’s arm. Diane Zajdel, Michelle’s mother, even recalls seeing a number of butterflies at Michelle’s memorial.

Soon, the family realized that these butterfly sightings weren’t a mere coincidence. Instead, the butterfly became a symbol for Michelle.

“The butterfly shows the kind of person she was,” Diane explained. “But she never really got to fly. We didn’t get to see how beautiful her colors were.”

To honor his sister and raise awareness of the negative effects that bullying can have on a person, Sean came up with the Michelle Zajdel Butterfly Project, which is now trying to raise $10,000 for a scholarship. Sean said Pitt’s Office of Institutional Advancement will work with the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid to establish parameters for the scholarhip based on criteria outlined by the Zajdel family.

As a result of receiving the Butterfly Project scholarship, Diane said, the chosen student will have the chance to feel special — his or her true colors and achievements will finally be recognized, rather than ignored.

Sean and Lindsay oversee all donations made to the Michelle Zajdel Butterfly Project. Not only do they document all deposits made, but they also take the collected money to the bank and deposit it themselves.

“We do it all ourselves,” he said. “We want to make sure we don’t lose any money.”

Although Sean isn’t able to put the money raised into a personal account, because the University doesn’t allow this, he has set up two PNC bank accounts in the name of his fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi. Once all the money is raised, it goes directly to the University.

According to Sean, $10,000 is the minimum amount of money Pitt requires for a scholarship to be created. The scholarship will end up being worth $500 per year.

But to Sean, that amount might not be enough. He hopes to raise up to $250,000 so that the student receives a full scholarship, rather than the $500 amount.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele believes the Zajdel siblings are doing the unprecedented by raising money for a scholarship.

“I can tell you that it is not common for students to create scholarships, period,” Fedele said in an email.

Currently, the family has raised more than $5,000 through donations and is continuing to accept money. Sean has been tabling in Litchfield Towers Lobby and will continue to do so on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. Cash donations are accepted, and Pitt students can donate via Panther Funds on Tuesday and Thursday. Checks mailed to the Zajdel’s home address are acceptable and donations using PayPal can be made by visiting the Michelle Zajdel Butterfly Project website — mzbutterflyproject.cloudaccess.net. The family will sell Michelle Zajdel Butterfly Project T-shirts at the corner of Bigelow Boulevard and Forbes Avenue on Wednesday for $6, and half the proceeds will go to fundraising for the scholarship.

Diane expressed some regret over not being able to fully appreciate Michelle’s positive effect on people until after her death. But she feels that if Michelle were aware of what the family was doing, she would be satisfied.

“She would be smiling down on us,” Diane said.