Giving Back on Giving Day

Sometimes, you have to think outside the box. And that’s exactly what the Lawrence Tech Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement team did when they livestreamed LTU’s third annual Giving Day last April featuring alumni, students, faculty, staff, and donors.

Julie Vulaj, BSPsy’23 and Erik Schmidt, BSET’23 earned their sweatshirts through a donation on Giving Day.

The strategy seemed to work—LTU had the best Giving Day yet, with over $340,000 raised from 217 donors. The proceeds will help the University fulfill its mission of providing scholarships to talented, deserving students in search of LTU’s technologically-focused education.

Lawrence Tech is fortunate to have dedicated alumni—in fact, many encouraged others to give back to LTU throughout the day (nothing like showing love for your alma mater!). Not only did they reflect on their college years; they also shared why giving back to LTU is so important.

Here are some highlights:

Peter Barclae loved LTU’s accessibility and recalled friends at larger universities who found it impossible to meet one-on-one with their professors; some even felt lucky when a student aide was available to answer questions. But LTU was different. “We could always go and seek out the professor. They were always eager to help us,” said Peter, who graduated with an engineering degree in 1985.

LTU development director Laura Gabriel (right) interviewed Peter Barclae, BSEE’85 in a Zoom call featured on the livestream broadcast. Barclae led an effort to increase donations to the Phi Kappa Upsilon endowed scholarship.

He also urged his Phi Kappa Upsilon fraternity brothers to contribute to PKU’s endowed scholarship and had a few words of wisdom for today’s students: “Get involved in various aspects of the university, whether it's student clubs or technical organizations; those networks can last a lifetime. And they've served me well, especially after joining the fraternity.”

Kevin Finn, VP of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, and Lorne Plante, VP of Operations for LTU’s marketing arm, Yellow Flag Productions, helmed the Giving Day livestream.

Shannon Dare Wayne , who has two degrees from Lawrence Tech (BSIM'98, MSIO'03) said LTU made her ready for the career she has today. That’s also her motivation for giving back. “‘Theory and practice’ is more than just a slogan. ‘Theory and practice’ is the fiber of what Lawrence Tech is. Teaching the technical portions and being able to apply them in industry,” said Shannon, is critical to producing tech-savvy students who can hit the ground running when they graduate.

She also wants to help sustain LTU’s legacy by investing in the region’s students. “So I’m very honored, very privileged and very proud to be an advocate for the University.”

Media communications student Elizabeth Coon announced hourly Giving Day results.

Bill Schwerin , BSCS’95, MSCS’09 recalled the value of belonging to a fraternity. “Going through the Greek process taught me a lot about standing up for myself and working with my peers and having the courage to change things.” He’s also grateful for classmates who turned into “good friends” and the contacts he made at LTU—many that flourish to this day.

Ed Zyjewski can’t forget how LTU accommodated his full-time work schedule, a quality the 1981 graduate found wanting in other schools. He’s also grateful for the “chances LTU afforded me” and hopes others are, too. “If you’re an LTU graduate, you might want to think about making that donation, that effort to think: You know, I really did get something out of my LTU education, and that education put me where I am today.”

Stay tuned for next year’s Giving Day! For more information on how you can give back to LTU, visit: ltu.edu/giving

by Pamela Houghton

Retiring faculty members Steve Rost, Gary Cocozzoli, and Corinne Stavish were honored on-air by former students.