…It’s about new chairs in Dallas Hall. It’s about a new scholarship to benefit future student leaders. It’s about better dance facilities in Meadows. It’s about buying new books for students who get tutored at the ICE House. The Senior Class Gift is not about the money. It’s about participating in giving back and it’s about knowing that any gift, whether it’s $1 or $100 will make a difference at SMU.
Donor support is critical to any nonprofit institution from universities to churches, and museums to the Red Cross. This year, the 2007 Senior Class Gift has taken the form of individual donations to a number of areas all over campus. We are not funding a statue or a plaque. Each of us can donate any amount to ANYTHING on campus–such as SMU Athletics, Celebration of Lights, Greek life, Student Senate, our individual school or department. As is true for all alumni, it’s an opportunity for us to say thank you and to give back to an area of campus that has made our time as SMU students special.
As graduating seniors, I know the last thing anyone wants to think about is donating money to anything when everyone is starting to save. We’re all about to enter the real world, whether it is graduate school or beginning a new career, but it doesn’t take a lot of money to make a difference. Just $1 will count towards increasing our participation. Currently at 23 percent, our alumni participation is weak compared to many other universities. This low participation hurts SMU in rankings and affects the value of our degrees. You have the opportunity now to be a part of the change. Giving back to SMU now will increase the value of your degree later and ultimately make SMU a better place.
Throughout this year, the Senior Class Council has been trying to share with our peers why it’s so important to give back to SMU. We’ve worked with the university on a number of different strategies simply because we’re all motivated and called to action by different things. At the end of the day, our goal has been to communicate that gifts of any size, to any area of the university are important and appreciated.
We’re asking everyone to pledge $20.07-a gift that will cover an hour of career counseling, three internship handbooks or an hour of tutoring in the LEC. If you can’t give $20, consider giving $5 by giving up one trip to Starbucks or having one less drink at Home Bar. If I can’t convince you why any gift is important, let the seniors of Yale University do the talking and visit YouTube.com to check out their parody of a famous SNL skit-“Senior Gift in a Box.” Well done, Yale seniors.
Gifts made by alumni and other donors each year breathe life into the buildings we’ve seen built during our time on campus. These annual gifts help to fund scholarships and financial aid, faculty support, student programs– all of the things that have touched our lives every day as students here. SMU cannot survive and thrive on student tuition and fees alone.
I gave my gift to SMU because in doing so, I believe I am helping the greater cause. My gift did not go to a statue or a plaque. Instead I chose to make my gift to the Mustang Leader Scholarship – a living, breathing project that will actively enrich the lives of students as long as SMU exists.
I am completing my fourth year at SMU and I can say without hesitation that this institution has provided me with opportunities far beyond the reach of the tuition and fees I have paid. As I look at my fellow classmates in the Class of 2007, I see the same success.
Please join me and the other 233 seniors who believe in SMU in giving back to the institution that has given us so much. Visit smu.edu/classof/2007 and make your gift to SMU today.
About the writer:
Liz Healy is a senior advertising major. She can be reached at [email protected].
