Instead of giving DePauw a tangible object in thanks for four years of education, the class of 2017 has decided to give back to the DePauw community with a scholarship of five thousand dollars for the annual senior gift.
The idea of a scholarship was created in order for the class of 2017 to leave behind a more permanent legacy at DePauw. "The whole idea is to leave a living legacy, because something that’s a fixed item doesn’t necessarily have the lasting sort of significance as a scholarship," senior Travis Wegren said.
A scholarship as a senior class gift was also suggested in order to give the class something they could connect to when they revisit DePauw in the future. "A few years ago they [DePauw] got rid of the idea of a thing because no one really feels connected to it, you know, if the class of 2017 gave a bench, it’s not like in 50 years they’re going to come back and really identify with this bench" Amanda Faulkenberg, annual giving program officer, said.
The importance of financial aid at DePauw was another reason why the class gift will be a scholarship. "Financial support is something that is really important to students, as it should be, and it is something that we really value here at DePauw is making it affordable, making it accessible," Faulkenberg said.
So far, the class has raised about $175 out of 5 thousand dollars, provided by 11 donors, which amounts to about 2 percent of the senior class. Although the seniors are currently short of their goal, Faulkenberg believes that as the senior class nears the end of their final year at DePauw, students will be motivated to donate to the scholarship fund. "It [donations] usually picks up around this time of year, people start realizing that they’re graduating," Faulkenberg said.
Seniors are able to donate to the scholarship both online and through philanthropic events. “So we’ve sent out a few e-mail communications where they [seniors] can just give online, which is our general giving process,” Faulkenberg said.
Another way that seniors can donate to the scholarship fund is by participating in philanthropic events on campus. “We [Student Philanthropy Council] had a dodge ball tournament, for example, the money went towards the fund for DePauw and if you were a senior participating, your money that you paid to be in the dodgeball tournament would go towards the senior gift drive, and you were recognized for that, for contributing,” sophomore Libby Kaiser said.
Both Wegren and Faulkenberg are also trying to encourage their classmates to donate to the scholarship firsthand as well as educate the seniors on the importance of the scholarship. “The other key aspect is also the go, give, connect aspect so it’s not just asking people for donations but it’s also trying to educate people on the impact of philanthropy here at the University which is something that is very important as well for a lasting impact,” said Wegren.
Once the scholarship goal is completed, it can be given by Financial Aid to any students who displays a need for financial assistance. “We don’t actually have any say in who gets it [the scholarship],” Faulkenberg said, “but it will be a student who exhibits financial need and whoever they [Financial Aid] see best fit.”