Faith White Awarded Stein Family College Scholarship from Tidewater Jewish Foundation

The annual Stein Family College Scholarship of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation was awarded this month to Faith Rose White, a soon-to-be graduate of Maury High School in Norfolk.

Faith is the eleventh recipient of the four-year scholarship of up to $10,000 per year that is provided to a Jewish student in Tidewater. Upon graduation, she will head to Kent State University where she plans to study Fashion Design.

When asked how she felt about receiving the scholarship, she said, “I’m incredibly honored to be chosen as this year’s recipient of the Stein Family Scholarship. I know Arlene Stein wanted to make the world a better place and I’m so appreciative of the opportunity to carry on that legacy. This is a huge weight off my shoulders. I’m relieved and deeply grateful to all those that helped me along this journey.”

After attending a career fair in the 8th grade, Faith knew she wanted to study fashion merchandising in college. She quickly learned that the schools offering those programs were highly competitive and had strict admissions criteria. Faith was undeterred and spent the next several years building an impressive academic record, earning numerous accolades, and taking additional Fashion Design courses at Norfolk Technical Center (NTC).  

She credits the Fashion Design courses at NTC as having the greatest impact on her academic achievement. It was there that she honed the skills needed to succeed in the fashion industry and learned how to sew, sketch, design, market, and merchandise clothes. The courses also connected her with the opportunity to join Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). She went on to serve as the organization’s President and won first place in their statewide design competition with her own fashion lines two years in a row.

Faith, much like the late and beloved Arlene Stein (in whose memory the scholarship was established), is committed to bettering the world and exemplifies the values of Tikkun Olam. Her and her family are members at Congregation Beth El and together, they work to support their congregation’s week to host Norfolk Emergency Shelter Team, which houses and feeds the homeless in the winter. In addition, she volunteers for a multitude of other organizations including Blankets for the Homeless through the Jewish Women Renaissance Project, and Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces. Her sister, Hannah, is currently serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Faith is proud to support her and all IDF soldiers.

Her commitment to Jewish values is further demonstrated by her professional goals and thoughtful perspective on the fashion industry. Faith intends to focus on sustainable fashion and ethical marketing with the hope that she can change the way young people view clothing.

She says, “The industry leaves an unacceptably large carbon footprint, produces 1 million tons of waste per year in the United States alone, and is rife with worker and human rights abuses. If we could all have fewer but more meaningful and ethically produced pieces in our closets, we would combat those abuses, use fewer of the earth’s resources, and dump less waste into landfills.”

The Stein Family College Scholarship was established in 2009 in memory of Arlene Stein, who did not complete college because of financial hardship. Arlene passed in 2007 and Jerry Stein, her beloved husband, passed away in 2014. The Tidewater Jewish Foundation works closely with the Stein Family in administering this scholarship to a deserving Hampton Roads teen.

Prior recipients of the scholarship include Morgan Conley (Brandeis University ’13), Eric Smith (University of Virginia ’14), Marissa Arager (George Mason University ’15), Avi Malkin (College of William and Mary ’16), Dinar Yusufov (James Madison University ’17), Amanda Gladstone (Virginia Tech ’18), Dana Cohen (Virginia Tech ’19), Brett Pomerantz (Virginia Tech ’20), Sydney Levine (University of Virginia ’21), and Lucie Waldman (Franklin and Marshall, ’22).