When students succeed, we all succeed: A Granite Edvance scholarship recipient prepares to help the next generation

The little girl who asked for math books for Christmas so she could keep up in school is never far from Tory Rudolph’s mind. Nor is the teacher who, a few years later, spent extra time making sure young Tory understood her lessons. Those two elements – hard work and a caring mentor – made the difference for Tory as she completed school and then headed to college.   

  

In 2024, entering her junior year at Plymouth State University, Tory received a Granite Edvance Scholarship. She shared the story of her childhood struggles and the teacher who supported her. “I want to be that teacher who makes a difference,” she said in an interview published in our 2025 Annual Impact Report, which featured her on the cover.   

  

This year, that dream came true. Tory graduated with an elementary education degree and is starting a job as a first-grade teacher in Warner.  

  

The 2024 scholarship, and a subsequent scholarship received the following year, played a role in Tory’s success story. They also represent something larger, something that echoes back to Tory’s childhood. Our scholarship program supports students who have demonstrated commitment to their goals, often in the face of hardship. And it shows them we believe in those goals. Time after time, students tell us that receiving a scholarship gave them a boost of confidence, knowing we had faith in their future.   

  

Hearing from these students fills us with hope. But the best gift is seeing them succeed. Just before graduation, Tory dropped by the Granite Edvance office with her graduation cap in hand and caught us up on her life. She’d recently completed a full-time teaching internship at Sanbornton Central School while also battling dramatic health challenges, eventually being diagnosed with epilepsy.   

  

“There were times I thought, ‘I can’t do this,’” she recalled. “But I learned so much.”   

  

Now in her own classroom, Tory will help shape the future for NH’s next generation of students, no doubt nurturing those who need a little extra support and someone who believes in them.