Ed and Joan Corboy

This scholarship was established in loving memory of my parents, both of whom were life-long learners. There is no better way to ensure their memory lives on than to provide others with access to an education. My mother’s name was Joan. She was an only child born and raised in the Bronx and Atlantic City, New Jersey. She moved to Washington, DC, with her parents, coincidently not long after a letter she wrote criticizing Atlantic City political boss “Nucky” Johnson was published in the local paper. In the late 1940s, she joined Catholics Against Racism to protest the National Theater’s racially discriminatory admission policies. Those protests resulted in the closure of the theater for three seasons. For my mom, the experience marked the beginning of a lifetime of civic activism. In the early 1950s, she met and married Edward Corboy. In 1955, shortly after the birth of their second child, she contracted the polio virus. She spent many months in an iron lung at Providence Hospital but, showing the determination that would be evident her entire life, she went on to learn to walk again. Despite the doctors emphatically telling her she should not have any more children, she went on to have six more. In 1957, she was named March of Dimes Mother of The Year. My mom traveled with my father to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was helping to launch the Peace Corps in Africa. He arrived first and my mom flew with her five children, the oldest eight and the youngest just one year old, to meet him there. While there, I was born. We returned to DC two years later. While raising eight children, my mom threw herself into the many civic, religious, and civil rights issues of the time while continuing her lifelong love affair with reading, the theater, and crossword puzzles. In the early 1980s, my mom found her life’s work: educating the public on the dangers of drunk driving. For her work with MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving) and later RID (Remove Intoxicated Drivers) of Washington she received many accolades, including recognition by President Bill Clinton in 1998 at a White House ceremony. She remained active in that role until she died in 2014.
My father, Ed Corboy, was born in Boston, MA. He was one of six children and did not have a happy childhood after his mother died. He moved to Washington, DC to attend the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University through the GI Bill. He worked while pursuing his degree. While employed at the law firm of Covington and Burling, he met my mom. When he heard John F. Kennedy speak on Georgetown’s campus, he came home and told my mother that he felt called upon to do something for others so he joined the Peace Corps. They loved their time living in Ethiopia. Following his time in the Peace Corps, my dad was employed with the Civil Aeronautics Board and served as the U.S. Liaison Officer to the International Civil Aviation Organization until he retired in 1983. My dad was incredibly funny, never lost his Boston accent, loved to eat a lot of food that wasn’t good for him, and especially loved spending time with his kids. He was as smart as he was handsome.

My parents were our “Google” before Google ever existed. Whenever we needed the answer to something, we would simply call them to ask about topics ranging from history, geography, grammar, current events, religion, art, or politics. Astoundingly, they almost always knew the answer or would quickly research it and get back to us. A book was almost always within their reach.

It is my great hope that you will take full advantage of this scholarship and that you will remember that it was established to honor two very special people who did their best to make the world a better place, while also enjoying life to the fullest.