The Amherst Wire

When a baby in Iraq was born with a unique and life-threatening birth defect, University of Massachusetts student Eric Valdepenas jumped at the opportunity to lend a helping hand.

AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Eric’s scholarship

The baby was born with its organs outside of the body and couldn’t receive treatment while in Iraq. Valdepenas was part of a group of Marines who volunteered to take the baby out of Iraq and transport it to a hospital in Boston where it received proper treatment. He received a purple heart for the mission.

Valdepenas also volunteered to put his college education on hold to serve his country as a Marine in Iraq. He had every intention of returning to school after his tour, but one month before he was scheduled to come home in September 2006, he was killed when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle in Fallujah.

“Our brother was big on giving back to the community and being helpful,” said his sister, Karen Ing. “Wherever he was needed he would always reach out a hand even if he wasn’t asked.”

Valdepenas, the youngest of eight, focused on giving his all, whether it was at school, sports or in the Marines. He was an honor student and all-state lacrosse player in high school, before studying engineering at UMass.

“He was innovative and creative with his thoughts and ideas,” said his sister Nora Lough. “He was always dedicated and motivated to achieving whatever his goals were.”

When J. Brian Palmer, a 1995 UMass graduate and colleague of Ing, heard the tragic story, he wanted his establish something positive from Valdepenas’s memory and donated $36,000 to start a scholarship at the UMass School of Management in his honor.

“It’s a moving story of someone who put their life on hold to do something important for the country,” said Palmer. “Eric was a UMass student so it’s a sense of pride knowing where we all go to school, someone like that chose to go too.”

The scholarship is awarded to a business student with a major financial need who shows qualities that Eric possessed. It is designed not only to honor Valdepenas, but keep alive his dedication to the community by helping someone in need every year. The recipient of the scholarship must have a documented financial need, have a record of giving back to their own community and submit an essay to show they possess the qualities that made Valdepenas so special to those that knew him.

“We’re really looking for somebody that exerts good character,” said Lough. “Also someone who knows what they want and goes for their goals and dreams with a full heart.”

Eric’s family hope the scholarship can turn a tragedy into something positive while at the same time helping the family to heal. Although Palmer made it clear the scholarship was not political and that his own views were not changed by the tragedy, he did add that Valdepenas’s story gave a healthy respect for an individual that chose to serve in the military.

“We are very proud of all that Eric accomplished,” said Teresa Valdepenas. “It was very hard when we lost him but hopefully through this scholarship his memory can live on.”