As many seniors prepare to receive their diplomas and move on to life after college, they will have one last opportunity to give back to the UCSD community through their class gift. UCSD’s class of 2001 is in the midst of establishing a scholarship fund as its final contribution to UCSD. It will also donate plaques commemorating gifts given by past classes.
“”We felt scholarships were best; they go with the purpose of giving back,”” said Melissa Tsang, chairwoman of the Senior Gift Campaign 2001.
Two scholarships will be funded by donations from graduating seniors: Starting next year, the scholarships will be awarded annually: One will be awarded to a transfer student, and the other will go to a graduating senior.
The precise financial and logistic criteria for each award are still being worked out.
In addition to the scholarships, the class of 2001 will engrave the names of gifts of past graduating classes on their respective Library Walk slabs.
This year’s gift is particularly unique, as it celebrates the philanthropy of past classes as well as providing a benefit for future students at UCSD.
A.S. President Doc Khaleghi was especially pleased with the choice of gifts.
“”I am one of many students that understand the profound effect scholarships have on a student’s life,”” Khaleghi said. “”I think the scholarships represent both giving a student a chance, and, for the outgoing senior, commending the student and supporting their future.””
UCSD Student Foundation President Ping Yeh is partly in charge of organizing the gift.
“”These gifts represent an awareness of how lucky we all are to graduate,”” Yeh said. “”Everyone can play a part to make the school better for the future.””
Fund raising for the scholarships will be a joint effort between the UCSD Student Foundation and the A.S. Council. Tsang stressed that the scholarships are “”not a one time deal; working with the Student Foundation will encourage the continuation of the scholarship in the future.””
In the coming weeks, seniors will be asked to contribute to the scholarship and gift funds. The campaign hopes to raise $20,000 as a principal investment to build the scholarship.
This year, seniors have the opportunity to donate by phone, by mail and on the Web. Yeh added that the committee is working hard to develop incentives, such as discounts for alumni activities, coupons and freebies for those who donate.
Tsang is optimistic about the fund raising.
“”The idea of scholarships will hopefully incite people to donate more,”” he said.
The two organizations are working hard to better organize the senior gift process. Citing the importance of philanthropy, Khaleghi is determined to broaden involvement in the campaign.
“”It gives those leaving a chance to give back to the university and future students,”” Khaleghi said. “”But there exists no institutionalized system. Because of this, there have been classes that have not had the awesome opportunity to participate in a senior gift campaign.””
Khaleghi and Yeh are also working on A.S. legislation to add continuity and structure to the Senior Gift process.
“”We can’t reinvent the wheel every year,”” Yeh said regarding the instability of past senior gift campaigns.
Although this year’s campaign got off to a delayed start, Khaleghi said he was astonished by the freshman leadership of Tom Chapman and Tsang.
“”Campaigns have started late in the past,”” Khaleghi said. “”It would obviously be beneficial if there was a permanent structure in place to have an annual senior gift.””
Yeh hopes to help maximize not only donations but student involvement in the philanthropic process.
Recent senior gifts have included recycling barrels on campus and improvements to the nature trails east of RIMAC.
The idea of a perpetual scholarships was too much for the campaign to turn down.
“”They are the gift that keeps on giving,”” Tsang said.
