The Salem Education Foundation has received a new endowment to support Salem High School seniors pursuing certifications in career and technical education disciplines.
The foundation, established in 1983, manages a $6.5 million endowment and awards approximately 120 scholarships and grants annually to recipients pursuing college degrees or training certifications.
G. Thomas Fields of Indianapolis, a 1952 graduate of Andrew Lewis High School, has established the Anna Martin Fields Scholarships in honor of his late wife. The endowment’s initial value is $116,000, making it one of the largest donations ever made to the foundation. Beginning in 2027, two scholarships valued at approximately $3,000 each will be awarded annually.
Fields previously joined fellow members of the Class of 1952 in establishing the Class of 1952 Scholarship, which has benefited graduates for several years.
Anna Martin Fields (1934-1996) was a member of the Andrew Lewis Class of 1954. Fields described his late wife as someone who “learned the skills and responsibilities of a Catawba farm girl at an early age” and was an accomplished student in home economics and industrial arts. He said she “could knit a sweater, program a computer, repair an appliance, or patch a leaky roof in the rain.”
Fields said his wife embodied a lifestyle of frugality and purpose, adding that her children called her “econo-mom.” He noted that she invested savings toward her children’s education, home ownership and retirement, and “never stopped learning — always applying her talents to family, church, and community.”
Fields is a retired certified public accountant who spent much of his career as Latin America Treasury Advisor for Eli Lilly, working with company affiliates from Mexico to Argentina on asset management, currency risk financing and governmental economic policies.
Fields said he believes the United States has placed too much emphasis on four-year college degrees at the expense of training in traditional trades, health disciplines and emerging technical fields. He noted that such skills are in high demand, pay well and largely avoid the debt associated with a college education.
For more information about the Salem Education Foundation, visit sefandaa.org.
