Students who can benefit from a science and technology full-tuition scholarship every year will triple thanks to a $2 million endowment given to the OC Foundation last week.

The Robert B. Stewart Trust donated the funds to invest in students studying science, technology, engineering and math. The gift brings the trust’s total donations to the foundation over the past eight years to $3 million.

The number of scholarships – valued at $4,000 each – jumped from seven per year to 23 according to David Emmons, director of the OC Foundation.

Olympic College President David Mitchell addressed an audience of around 100 people during a gift announcement ceremony at the college’s science and technology building on Oct. 31.

“I’ve been doing this president thing for almost 18 years now and this is the biggest single gift that I’ve ever been a part of,” Mitchell said.

“It’ll impact, literally, hundreds and hundreds of students. This will go on in perpetuity.”

Stewart, who died at age 85 in 2011, made millions by investing and living a frugal life.

He was born in 1926 in Duluth, Minnesota. When he was 15 he moved with his mother to Seattle.

John Ebert, trustee for Stewart’s estate, said the Great Depression left an impression on Stewart.

“He witnessed extreme poverty and the hopelessness of the people. And Bob decided then and there that he did not want to be poor again,” Ebert said.

Fortuitously, Stewart dated a girl whose father was interested in investing.

“That changed Bob’s life because Bob found his passion and he became a lifelong investor,” Ebert said.

Ebert said Stewart was proud to tell how he sold his stock for a healthy profit. But some of those stocks continued to climb in value after he sold them.

Stewart didn’t like talking about those particular trades, Ebert joked.

“The lesson learned was ‘always be a long-term investor.’ And now you know why Bob Stewart always invested for the future. What better way to invest in the future than providing scholarships for promising students?,” Ebert said.

Stewart had a fondness for technology, such as early computer spreadsheet applications. He taught himself to take advantage of the new tool to keep his mind sharp. His love of technology is also why his memorial scholarship is targeted at students pursuing science and engineering degrees.

Stewart suffered a physically debilitating stroke in 2004, but his mind was not affected.

“Bob went from being a very active, energetic person to a person totally dependent on others,” Ebert said.

Stewart said that what scared him the most was being forgotten. Ebert visited Stewart daily to keep him company and talk about the latest stock market moves.

Stewart had more than enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life. The question was what to do with the rest of it.

“When you’ve got everything you could possibly hope for, what good is all the extra money?,” Ebert asked.

Thus, Stewart’s financial focus shifted from asset accumulation to philanthropy.

“Can you imagine how much of a change it was? It was a sea change for Bob to give away – just give away – a million dollars. After all that’s a lot of money,” Ebert said.

Stewart’s scholarships have helped 33 students so far, including OC student Adam Burchett. Burchett was one of the scholarship recipients who attended the gift announcement. He is studying mechanical engineering and said the scholarship not only paid all his tuition but also freed up family funds so that his younger siblings could attend college as well.

Mitchell said scholarships provided a crucial amount of certainty and financial support which students needed to complete college successfully.

“There are students that will have this opportunity because of this scholarship that they would not have otherwise. Nothing affects one’s life more than access to education,” Mitchell said.

At a company like Amazon, which Mitchell cited as an example, a good education meant the difference between earning $150,000 as a computer programmer and earning much less stuffing boxes at an Amazon warehouse.

Mitchell said the former Bremer Automotive Technology Center will be renamed the “Robert B. Stewart Engineering Building.” Two rooms within the building will also be named in Stewart’s honor.

“John, I can assure you that Robert B. Stewart will not be forgotten at Olympic College or in this region,” Mitchell said.