AU Alumni News Mar. 2018

I remember my interview for my job at AU well. I walked into a room surrounded by eight faculty staff and alums...

The interview had gone well, and I was excited about the idea of getting to connect and work with AU alums. Why not? I had a great experience here... and, ultimately, met my wife here. I was excited to apply my relational, creative and communication skills in a way that might better engage alums.

And then the conversation turned toward raising funds. My stomach churned as I remember saying: "If you're looking for someone to ask for money, you've got the wrong guy." I was assured my job was about the relationships.

Since that time, I have had a shift in my own heart. I do very much want to better engage alums and help to share their stories, because AU is blessed to have so many alums doing incredible things around the world! That's still the greatest part of my job. However, I am more willing now to encourage our alums to give back to AU financially, because I believe in this place. It's the contributions from our alums that allows for the foundation for our current students to become alums, like you, who do incredible things around the world.

Did you know that the college rankings by US News & World Report have a lot to do with the percentage of alums who give back to their alma mater? The size of the gift truly is less significant. It's the percentage of alumni donors that matters. When AU's rankings among other colleges and universities are better, your degree also has an increased perceived value by employers.

On April 12, our annual giving team will be hosting our 18-hour social media Orange & Black Give Back day. I would love to blow the doors off of our past attempts to have more AU alums give back than ever before! Again, the gifts can be any size and will go directly to support our Student Fund. Your gifts will allow AU to continue to financially assist current students so that they are prepared to do great things around the world.

I hope you'll join me, in big and small ways, to help support AU on April 12!

Scott Tilley
Director of Alumni Engagement

Anderson University's third annual Day of Giving: Orange & Black Give Back is coming up on April 12.

During last year's Day of Giving event, alumni and friends of the university exceeded expectations in a big way! We exceeded our goal of 650 donors in one day—for a total of 672! Those dedicated alumni, faculty, staff, and friends rose to the challenge and gave over $177,000 to the AU Student Fund (scholarships and grants for students) and various departments and athletic teams.

This year, we're asking those who believe in AU and want to invest in the lives of students to push just a little higher. We've set the goal for number of donors at 700! We hope you will consider making a gift, and passing this message along to other friends of AU. Your gift, no matter how large or small, will make a difference when it's added to the gifts of many others that day, and the department with the most participation will win $1,000 of the day's donations for their dean or chair's discretionary fund.

Visit the AU website on April 12, where the full page with the opportunity to give will go live at 6 a.m.!

If you would like to become a Social Media Ambassador for AU on Day of Giving, please contact Allison Ludwig, Project Manager for Advancement: akludwig.adv@anderson.edu.

David Pepsny BA ‘02 graduated from Anderson University with a degree in marketing. During his time at AU, he also worked in the Physical Plant Department on campus. Due to his work with the department, he received a scholarship sponsored by the workers of the department.

He recently came across a copy of Signatures alumni magazine with a feature on his scholarship, and was reminded of the generosity of those physical plant workers. Pepsny said, “Their generosity not only made an impact financially in my life, but also the thought and testimony that these individuals gave by giving up their hard earned money to help support me through my education.”

As a small token of appreciation for the scholarship he received, Pepsny sent several Papa John’s gift cards to the current workers in the Physical Plant Department. The workers enjoyed a pizza party thanks to Pepsny’s gift cards.

Joe Royer, executive director of facilities and property management said, “The folks were happy to learn that the benefactor of their lunch was a former student and PPD worker. This was a wonderful gesture, to know that a former student worker and alum has fond enough memories of his time here to think of us some 20 years later.”

Pepsny is currently earning his second master’s degree at the University of California San Francisco in healthcare administration and interprofessional leadership, and will graduate in the summer of 2018. He has been the director of facilities for the Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Campus for about three years. He and his wife have been living and working in the Sacramento area for almost 11 years now, and they have four young children.

Pepsny was happy to honor the generosity of those workers that supported his scholarship nearly 20 years ago. “I don’t think we do a good enough job going back and thanking those who have helped us become who we are today,” said Pepsny. “I’m trying my best to go back and appreciate all of those who gave so much to me.”