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Photo: Since graduating in 2015, Erin Sheehan, center, has donated to Alvernia at least once a year when possible.
 

By Jon Fassnacht

When Erin Sheehan graduated from Alvernia in 2015, her bachelor’s degree came with a degree of debt. But the university’s Trustees Scholarship and its Ambassador Award, a yearly scholarship given to Golden Guide student ambassadors, helped lessen the healthcare science major’s burden.

After receiving her diploma, Sheehan committed to paying that assistance forward. She eliminated a monthly subscription for beauty samples, redirecting those funds toward her alma mater.

“As a new grad, $100 a year felt like a lot, but I am so glad I started that back then,” said Sheehan, who parlayed her love of her involvement at Alvernia to a career in higher education technology. “Working in the field of higher education, I know the importance of donors, especially alumni.”

In the ensuing years, Sheehan has donated to Alvernia at least once a year when possible.

Annual gifts are the unsung heroes of universities like Alvernia. When combined with similar gifts from other alumni, major differences can be made to the fortunes of current students.

“Every dollar donated to the Hope Fund impacts our students and the Alvernia community,” said Maureen Plover ‘10, Alvernia’s director of annual giving. “A $25 gift once a year or a $10 monthly gift combined with other $10 or $25 donations grows to thousands of dollars to help a student afford a winter class he needs to take for graduation, or to purchase a book for a class, a tie for an interview or medication for an underlying illness.”

Photo: Chris Ray ‘13 tries to donate yearly to pay forward the benefits he received at Alvernia.

Chris Ray ’13 remembers being active on and off the baseball diamond while at Alvernia, making memories with his teammates and spending countless hours working on business projects with classmates and professors.

His productive days as a business management major and versatile infielder led to a productive career as an operations supervisor-trade settlement at SEI Investments Company. It also led to Ray’s decision to give back to the institution that gave so much to him.

“I usually give yearly,” he said. “I try to give a little more if it’s a good year.”

Ray said he appreciates receiving handwritten letters from students thanking him for his gifts. That personal touch reinforces his decision.

“Everything I have now is because of the people I met and the things that I learned at Alvernia,” said the Pottstown resident, who tries to make it back to campus a few times a year. “I just wanted to make sure I was paying that forward and helping out in any way that I could.”

Sheehan’s post-graduation living arrangements have made return trips more difficult. A stint in Virginia was followed by over a year of full-time travel for her remote job. She has filled some of that campus involvement void with Alvernia’s Young Alumni Committee, volunteering for events virtually and in person.

After recently settling down in Charlotte, N.C., she hopes to make more visits to the transformed campus where she served as Student Government Association president, Golden Guide and head orientation leader.

“I watched the institution grow: new programs added, several new buildings built, and much in between,” she said. “When I was a tour guide, I would joke that it was never a good sign to be on a campus free of construction. It might not always be the prettiest, but it shows that the university is investing in itself and its students. I still fully believe in that statement today.”

And continued donations from alumni like Sheehan and Ray, along with all other types of contributions, are indispensable to Partners in Progress, the recently launched public phase of Alvernia’s Comprehensive Campaign. The success of that campaign will shape the university’s future.

“The campaign is all about setting students up for success, inside and outside the classroom,” Plover said. “The gifts we receive over the next few years will have a tremendous impact on the experiences, resources and career paths available to Alvernia students for years to come.”