“I love where I grew up,” said Greer Gill, a third-year field hockey player from the Tidewater region of Virginia. “I have a lot of 757 pride.”

Gill is the recipient of The Michael A. and Juanita L. Turner Tidewater Student Athlete Scholarship Fund, an award she also received her second year. “Greer doesn't take a day off, she doesn’t take a play off. She has the grit of Tidewater,” field hockey head coach Michele Madison said on a video call with Gill and with Michael Turner (McIntire ’80), who, along with his wife Nita, funded the endowed scholarship. “Nita and I grew up in Tidewater,” said Turner, “and that is why we selected this particular scholarship and its criteria of a Tidewater student-athlete.”

The connection between the donors who fund endowed scholarships and the student athletes they support is an important part of the scholarship experience. Gill was able to meet Michael Turner her second year at the 2019 Hoos Choice Awards. In 2020, donors and scholarship recipients connected through video calls. “It’s not that they’re just giving the money and it’s over,” said Gill. “It's a relationship.” Turner has already offered to help Gill network for internship opportunities while she's in school as well as employment opportunities after she graduates.

Gill is a midfielder for the Cavaliers. In her 2019-20 season, she was eighth in the ACC in assists and was named to the 2019 ACC All-Tournament Team. Gill was chosen for the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team in 2018 and 2019, and has traveled to Germany to compete against Germany’s and Great Britain’s U-21 teams.

Gill was named to the All-ACC Academic Team in both her first and second year. “I love athletics, but my schoolwork is also extremely important to me,” Gill said. “The academic honors mean just as much as anything else.” She was accepted to UVA’s media studies program and is considering a career in sports marketing.

Gill is member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and has a close group of friends from her high school, Norfolk Academy, who now attend UVA. She is a member of Operation Smile at UVA, a club that supports the work of the medical nonprofit. Gill and her sisters—twin Halle and older sister Ainsley—are all involved with One Love, a foundation that educates young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships that was formed in memory of Yeardley Love (Col ’10). They are the daughters of Susan (Ed ’87) and John Gill; Susan played JV field hockey at UVA for two years, Halle plays at Georgetown, and Ainsley played for four seasons at Duke.

Both Gill and the Turners understand the importance of endowed scholarships to the University’s athletics program. “I’m very, very thankful for my scholarship, and for the Turners,” said Gill, “and for everyone who supports endowed scholarships—especially right now.”

“The endowment acts as an assist for the annual fund,” said Turner. Currently, 94 UVA student athletes have been awarded endowed scholarships. The Virginia Athletics Foundation’s ultimate goal is to endow all of the 316.6 athletics scholarships allowed by the NCAA for the 25 varsity sports sponsored by UVA. Operational endowments—including head coach and assistant coach endowments—are also an ongoing source of financial support for the University’s athletics teams.