Dr. Peter Mills

Dr. Peter Mills was a student at Foothill College in the mid 1960s and has always been grateful for the opportunity to obtain housing through the student firefighter program where he lived in the firehouse (which was located at the Carriage House) and served as a student firefighter. The firefighters, led by then Fire Captain Robert (Bob) Henshel, were extremely kind and generous to Dr. Mills and the other students. Bob and his wife Patti welcomed the students into their home for meals and provided support and encouragement to the students to help them achieve their goals. Bob and Patti were like a second family for the student firefighters, particularly Dr. Mills. In recognition of their kindness and support, Dr. Mills decided to name the scholarship after Robert (Bob) and Patti Henshel, who are pictured to the left. (Patti passed away in 1998 and Bob passed away in 2009). Dr. Mills went on to receive a PhD from the University of California, Irvine, and is a retired emeritus professor at the University of Oregon.

While at Foothill, Dr. Mills also received a scholarship, and could not have completed his AA without this financial help. Dr. Mills felt strongly about giving back to Foothill and chose to set up this scholarship to recognize students with financial need who have persevered academically having overcome a great hardship, having lived with a disability, being the first in their family to go to college, overcoming economic hardship, having re-entered college after a period of absence, single parent, etc.