In 1919, while students at Juniata, Mary Francis and Frederick Beckley were part of a co-ed tennis class at the school. Only an estimated 11 percent of the world's population is left-handed, and at this time, many left-handed people were forced to use their right hands or otherwise discriminated against in some way. The tennis instructors at Juniata decided that the best thing to do to avoid the chaos left-handed players might wreak on their class was to pair them up as teammates. Out of this pairing blossomed a romance that would culminate in Francis and Beckley's marriage in 1924. In 1979, Mary Francis Beckley began the Frederick and Mary F. Beckley Scholarship Program.
The scholarship consists of a grant of $1,000 to $1,500 for gifted Juniata lefties each year. It was instituted on the belief that if you accept yourself for who you are, you will find your destiny, as Mary and Frederick Beckley found each other.
The grant is given each year to two left-handed students who demonstrate both financial need and high academic achievement. It is only available to Juniata sophomores, juniors and seniors. Recipients of the grant must use the money at Juniata and must commit to finishing their undergraduate education at the college. Each student applying for the scholarship must fill out an individual data forms that reportedly tests students' level of left-handedness.
Juniata College, in central Pennsylvania, is a private liberal arts institution founded in 1876. It is home to just fewer than 1,500 students and is known for its strong natural sciences program, as well as its emphasis on a diverse course of study. Juniata offers programs of emphasis rather than majors and gives students the opportunity to construct their own program of emphasis from a group of classes offered across various disciplines at the college.
The Beckley Grant is given out each year to different students. The application deadline for the grant each year is April 1.