Philanthropist, 100, to Put Poor Youth Through College

Gertrude Nielsen knows the joy of seeing things grow.

A lover of gardens, the wealthy widow of television ratings giant A.C. Nielsen donates her time and money to the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Nielsen, who turns 100 next month, also knows that some things need more than water and sunshine to thrive. And when she saw a budding scholar in 17-year-old Timothy Wilborn, she decided to help him grow in a different way.

She said she would foot the bill for his college education--if he agrees to keep up his grades.

Wilborn, already an accomplished trumpet player and artist who lives in one of the city’s roughest neighborhoods, impressed her right away with his intelligence and determination.

“Children and gardens, I worked on those all my life,” she said. “My grandmother taught me to do something every day. None of us is perfect, but do something to help.”

The two make an unlikely pair. They’re separated by more than three-quarters of a century. She’s white, he’s black. She lives in the tony suburb of Winnetka; he lives in public housing.

They met at a fund-raising luncheon in March 1995. The following month, he interviewed her for an organization that pairs inner-city youngsters with successful people for motivational conversations.

Talk shifted from her life to his future, and sometime between lunch and a discussion about their favorite flowers, Nielsen made her offer.

“Every day I ask the question: Why was I chosen?” Wilborn said. “Most people, when they see a kid in this community, they see it as a formula for failure.”

Wilborn, who graduated this year from King High School, hopes to start college in the fall. He’s been accepted to Illinois State University and is still waiting to hear from Northeastern Illinois University and Simpson College in Iowa.

He hasn’t decided on a major. But with Nielsen’s help, he’s sure of one thing: “I won’t disappoint her,” he said.