Barbara Price sets up scholarship to remember late daughter's legacy
By Staff Reports
Published in News on February 20, 2017 9:44 AM
Full Size
MOUNT OLIVE -- The late Suzanna H. Weil had a passion to help others.
As a tribute to that passion, and to keep alive Mrs. Weil's memory, her mother, Barbara Price, established the Suzanna Bel Hinson Weil Endowed Scholarship Fund for Fine Arts at the University of Mount Olive.
In her studio, Diversity Dance in downtown Goldsboro, Mrs. Weil used dance to open dialogue with her students to help them understand what they saw, felt and thought.
And one of Mrs. Price's fondest memories of her daughter is of when they were standing outside the dance studio.
A young girl walked by with a longing in her eyes as she peered through the window at the other dancers. It was obvious to both Mrs. Price and Mrs. Weil that the girl could not afford lessons.
"Suzanna told me we were putting that child on scholarship," Mrs. Price said. "She became one of her most gifted students. That is who Suzanna was, and that is how I want her to be remembered."
Because of Mrs. Weil's passion to help others, and Mrs. Price's desire to keep her daughter's memory alive, Mrs. Price established the Suzanna Bel Hinson Weil Endowed Scholarship Fund for Fine Arts at the University of Mount Olive.
Paraphrasing Shakespeare, Mrs. Price said, "We can't change what has happened yesterday, but we can do something about this minute that we are in right now.
"This scholarship will not only help worthy UMO students, but it will also keep Suzanna's legacy alive. That thought helps me get through each day."
Mrs. Price said she will never forget the evening of February 19, 2016.
"Suzanna and I had gone to the University of Mount Olive Hymn Festival," she said. "We sat side by side enjoying the splendor of those great hymns.
"As the last song, 'Amazing Grace,' was played Suzanna reached over and took my hand in hers. We were both moved to tears. We felt so much love in that room that night."
It was the last time that the mother and daughter would be together. Mrs. Weil was tragically killed in a vehicle accident three days later.
At age 46, she, was still in the prime of her life. As a dance instructor, she impacted hundreds of young people over the years.
Mrs. Weil saw dance as an ever-changing mixture of the intellectual and the emotional, the physical and the spiritual. She felt that dance offered a unique means by which dancers could explore themselves and their positions in the wider world.
Mrs. Price and her husband, the late D. McKinley Price, have given generously to many educational institutions over the years, including to the University of Mount Olive.
Their interests, rooted in agriculture and the arts, stem from a desire to feed not only the body, but also the soul.
"What do we live for if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?" This quote by George Eliot is one of Mrs. Price's favorite.
"It is something we should all strive to do," she said.
Mrs. Price, who has had her fair share of struggles, heartbreaks and successes, believes that too often, people are focused on the muddy waters of life, when in fact; their focus should be on the lilies that bloom from the muddy water.
Mrs. Price was born and raised in the Seven Springs community.
She attended East Carolina University, where she earned her teaching certificate.
As an educator, she often found herself wondering how she could be paid to do something she loved so much. Her enthusiasm for her chosen vocation was contagious, not only in her students, but also in her own children.
In the years when her children were small, Mrs. Price became a divorced, single mom with four children. Among the many hats she wore in this role, the one of taxi cab driver stands out. She fondly recalls traveling to and from dance lessons, piano practices, guitar instructions, and the like.
After her remarriage to McKinley Price, she also became a stepmother.
For more information about the Suzanna Bel Hinson Weil Endowed Scholarship Fund, contact the university's Office of Institutional Advancement at 919-658-2502.
For more information, visit www.umo.edu.