This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Chicago chapter.
The Senior Class Gift Committee recently kicked off a Senior Blog Contest so that interested fourth years can express their feelings about their time at the College. The winning blog entrant will receive an autographed set of Dean Boyer’s books on the history of the college. Through the Blog Contest, the Senior Class Gift Committee hopes to raise awareness about philanthropy on campus, and to get more students involved with the giving campaign. I am particularly excited about this Contest as the prompt is the one I wrote on for my application to the University. I loved it then and I love it now! Contest rules and details can be found at the end of this article.
Being a part of the SCG Committee has been an integral part of my last year at UChicago. I have met amazing people, formed bonds over bagels and coffee (free bagels and coffee, mind you!) and have heard some of the many things that philanthropic giving means to my graduating class. This year, as in previous years, our gift will go to the College Fund which supports a wealth of important programming at the University. From the Odyssey Scholarship to the Arts pass and from CCI programs to RSO support, it’s likely that the College Fund has somehow impacted your life while at the University. As a committee, we opted not to give to a physical gift, as in the long run physical gifts take more money to maintain than a gift to the College Fund and hold less significance for future classes. By giving to the College Fund, the Class of 2012 is coming together to remember a fantastic four years, to support future students, and to thanks the University for all of the wonderful experiences we have had. In that spirit, it’s important to note that Senior Class Gift is about participation, not the dollar amount raised. As of right now, we are at 39% participation. By May 16th, we hope to be at 55% participation, the level at which John Fyfe, AB ’68 will generously make a matching donation of $25,000!
To those of you who can give, please do, or contact me at amelendez@uchicago.edu with any questions you might have. If you are not in the Class of 2012, I hope this gives you reason to think about all of the experiences you have had thus far and what you will be giving in honor of when your time comes. Submissions are due by May 7th, so get blogging!
Contest rules and details:
The Senior Class Gift Committee is hosting a Senior Blog Contest between now and Monday, May 7. Entries will be judged based on creative interpretation of the question and relevance to the philanthropic efforts for the University. Winners will be selected by a faculty panel including Ted Cohen and will receive a signed box set of Dean Boyer’s books! The prompt was inspired by a question from the Common Application when we applied to UChicago.
The prompt is:
Modern improvisational comedy had its start with the Compass Players, a group of University of Chicago students who later formed the Second City comedy troupe. Here is a chance to play along. Improvise a story, essay, or script that meets all of the following requirements:
· It must include the line “[blank] the Uncommon”.
· Its characters may have superpowers.
· Your work has to mention philanthropy at the University of Chicago.
· Your work must include at least four of the following elements: the invisible hand, the College Fund, the Odyssey (Scholarships), a transformation, Metcalf internships, study abroad, a philanthropic interpretation of the Pythagorean Theorem
Please submit your entry to seniorclassgift@uchicago.edu no later than Monday, May 7th.
