Ever since 2012, the senior class gift has not been spent on tangible items for the campus, but added to the Senior Class Gift Scholarship Fund. The combined goal of all of the senior classes is to raise $100,000 to endow a scholarship in perpetuity.
“It’s a special fund that will help future students benefit from the same experiences, education, and opportunities that has allowed our current seniors to achieve success at Wagner,” says Kaitlin Girton ’08, director of development. “The Senior Class Gift Scholarship Fund will allow our students to leave a legacy that will last for years to come.”
The class of 2018 raised $2,611.53 from 142 gifts for the Senior Class Gift Scholarship Fund, and current students are aiming to raise even more in honor of the graduating class of 2019. Fundraising efforts include fun campaigns like a Valentine’s Day Crush soda sale. The total raised for this scholarship since 2012 is $52,429.
Jessica Vincello ’21 is already helping to raise money for the Senior Class Gift Scholarship Fund. An arts administration major from Baldwin, New York, she is a member of the Student Alumni Association leadership team, vice president of the marching band, and vice president of the Wagner Campus Activities Board.
“It’s a collaborative effort over many years of graduating classes that will benefit many graduating classes to come,” Vincello says of the Senior Class Gift Scholarship Fund. “It brings together so much of the Wagner community over such a long period of time — that makes it an exciting idea.”
Vincello also works for the Office of Alumni Relations — look for her at Reunion 2019! Like the Senior Class Gift Scholarship Fund, Reunion brings together alumni of all generations, especially at the Saturday night dinner dance, she says.