Give to the Joseph W. Miller Endowed Scholarship

Established by Barbara A. Miller as a surprise wedding anniversary gift to her husband, the Joseph W. Miller Endowed Scholarship supports students in the fine arts area who maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 with preference given to students with an interest in photography or photojournalism.

Joseph Miller’s passion and lifelong career was photography, and he took joy in sharing his knowledge of the field. Born in Long Branch, New Jersey (the oldest of eight children), he spent much of his childhood on Long Island. After winning a camera in school, he became intrigued with photography. 

He served as a technical sergeant in the 36th Engineers Combat Regiment, U.S. Army in World War II, and served in combat many times. His unit made five amphibious landings in Italy, France and North Africa. Using the G.I. Bill, he attended and graduated from the School of Modern Photography and Television Workshop of New York. He moved to Orlando where he founded J. Walter Miller Photography. He was the official team photographer for the Florida Blazers, Orlando Renegades and Orlando Thunder as well as the photographer on many television and movie sets, including “New Leave It to Beaver,” “Ernest Saves Christmas” and “All About Disney."

“In his photos, he depicted Orlando as it came of age,” said Leslie Postal, staff writer for the Orlando Sentinel. “Joseph Walter Miller photographed the Orlando skyline and Red Lobster’s early restaurant meals. He snapped Orange County Convention Center under construction, the first space shuttle flights, football games at the Citrus Bowl and a parade of celebrities and politicians who visited Orlando.”

“He always had this twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips and always had a kind word for everyone and was always looking to see how much good he could do," said Dr. E. Ann McGee, president emerita of Seminole State College of Florida. "He always wanted to see young people get ahead. He had the largest heart of anybody I’d ever met.”

Success Stories

Nemesis Deras

I am sincerely honored to have been selected to receive the Joseph W. Miller Endowed Scholarship. Thank you for your generosity, which will allow me to continue with my graphic design studies. Part of my career in graphic design allows me to study photography more thoroughly, and this will allow me to further expand my horizons in my future field of work. As I complete my education at Seminole State College, I am very thankful for receiving your thoughtful gift. And I am also thankful to SSC Foundation since they gave me the opportunity to apply for this scholarship.

Isabel Fernandez

Receiving this scholarship has encouraged me to strive for more and keep my head up when it comes to my goals. Thank you for supporting my career and my education. Thanks to you I am one step closer to my goals. I couldn't be more grateful!

Additional Information

Thank you to our donors who support this scholarship:

• AADA Services, Inc.
• ADAMM
• Automobile Dealers Educational Assistance Foundation, Inc.
• Automotive Services Network
• Automotive Trade Association Executives
• Chris Behrens
• Borcheck & Gase, LLC
• F. Bryan
• Central Florida Auto Dealers Association, Inc.
• Karen Climer
• Colorado Automobile Dealers Association
• Cory Fairbanks Mazda
• Danny Len Buick GMC, Inc
• Amy Davis
• Kathryn Delk
• DeLuca Toyota
• Pete DeVita
• Arnold Dorman
• Lisiana Dutka
• Ford of Ocala, Inc.
• Louis Frey
• Sherrill Gall
• Edward Hennes
• Randy Houck
• Houston Automobile Dealers Association
• Sue Hughes
• Bruce Hulse
• J&B Enterprises
• Maryland Auto Dealers Association
• Dr. E. Ann McGee
• Cherril McMillian
• Barbara Miller
• NJ Car Charles E. Walton Charitable Foundation, Inc.
• Stephen Parks
• Physicians United Plan, Inc.
• Maureen Preuss
• Kimberly Recker
• Rosenfield and Company, PLLC
• Yolanda Skelly
• SourceInterlink
• South Florida Auto-Truck Dealers Assn., Inc.
• SunTrust Bank Corporate Headquarters
• Tennessee Automotive Association
• Curt Van Loon
• Washington State Auto Dealers Association
• Pamela Weber
• WFTV Channel 9
• George Wilson
• G.  Wohlust
• Gregg Young