Before I dive into my exciting day of cramming for a Political Ideologies exam at 1:00, I promised you a more thrilling post today. Which got me thinking, what can I possibly write about? Well, there's a few things involving my sorority, but I try not to write about that topic very much, or this blog would be Greek to a lot of you. Just take a moment to imagine 130 girls all being asked to agree on something, and you'll get a better idea of how chapter meetings go every week. Voting on fundraisers or homecoming pairings is like the 19th amendment on crack.
I could write about how I got scolded by a club for tweeting to them that it was difficult to plan private parties there. They asked me to take it down, and then offered me complimentary VIP and champagne... I got what I wanted, and if it took abusing social media to get it, then that's fine with me. The manager is a huge dickhole, anyways, and I don't play that game. People really should know better than to test a hot-headed Italian girl.
Instead, I think I'll write about something positive that I think a lot of you guys can relate to. I've recently been working with a woman in my college who is the Assistant Director of Development, which means she works with my university's foundation to raise money for special programs and scholarships. While I go to a very large public university, I'm in the honors college there, which is very small. Everyone knows everyone, including the staff and faculty. Last year, the honors college started a senior giving campaign to encourage about-to-be-alumni to pledge $100 over the next five years to the college. A simple $20 a year from each student can do wonders for leadership conferences, luncheons with big-time executive speakers, sholarships to study abroad, and all the other things most of my peers don't realize come from philanthropic donations. While I go to a public university, only about 25% of our funding comes from the government. That leaves a lot of gaps. I was even more surprised to find that, since my university is also relatively "up and coming," only 1% of alumni donate back to their alma mater.
I know that a lot of us are constantly being asked to donate to some cause or another. Some, we may have a personal connection with. Others, we might dismiss as our money is needed more in other areas. But every college graduate should have a respect for their education, their hard work, and the university that helped them achieve it. After all, we chose that school. Sure, that $20 could buy me new summer sandals or a great night out downtown, or pay my bills, my sorority dues, buy me groceries...but it could also go to help give other students the same wonderful opportunities I had that made college the best 4 years of my life.
So, the next time you get a donation card in the mail, or someone from your university contacts you about giving back, I urge you to just consider it. Education is what keeps our world turning, and we should all be able to say we helped push.
Love,
N
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