May 2016
Campaign Results Newsletter Thanks for Your Support—Your Donation Makes a Difference!
The COD4COD Committee Co-chairs thank you for your support and participation
Employees contributed more than $38,000 for student scholarships and programs through the 2016 COD4COD Employee Giving Campaign. This newsletter highlights just a few illustrations of the impact of your donation—and there are so many more!
Mark Collins Assistant Dean of Adjunct Faculty
2016 COD4COD Impact Resource for Excellence: 9%
Tracey Frye Student Affairs Administrative Assistant
Scholarship Support: 68%
Robyn Johnson Communications Manager Diana Martinez McAninch Arts Center Director Lauren Morgan Speech Communication Professor
Program Support: 23%
This year, the top funds employees supported included: • • • • • • • • • •
Dr. Joseph and Donna Collins Student Success Scholarship General Scholarship Fund Resource for Excellence Fund Iyer Chemistry Scholarship McAninch Arts Center General Fund H.J. Kleemann Engineering Scholarship Early Childhood Education Fund Donald Carter Memorial Scholarship William W. Steele Memorial Scholarship COD Foundation’s Textbook Scholarship
It’s never too late to give! Make a donation online today. foundation.cod.edu/cod4cod
(630)942-2462 foundation@cod.edu. 1
Helping a Student Reach His Goal Just a year away from completing his Nursing degree at College of DuPage, U.S. Army veteran Bill Aitken wasn’t sure he would be able to continue his studies due to the finances that he balanced between school and home, especially with two young daughters. Aitken always had an interest in health care and after enlisting in the Army, he became a medical specialist. He has worked in many non-degreed healthcare positions, including emergency medical technician, orderly, patient care assistant and phlebotomist, but he always knew nursing was where his heart was. “I kept realizing that until I get this degree I’m not really going to be successful in the career I want,” he said. One class at COD led to another and before he knew it, Aitken was accepted into the Nursing degree program. But with just a year left in his studies, and a few thousand dollars short in tuition, Aitken considered quitting the program. At the urging of Nursing Department faculty, Aitken applied for grants and scholarships and was surprised when he received not just one, but four scholarships from the College of DuPage Foundation, including the Returning Adult Scholarship, the Rotary Club of Naperville Downtown Scholarship, the Veteran’s Textbook Scholarship and the Nursing Alumni Scholarship.
“As humans we are more amazing and our capabilities are much greater than we even realize—it wasn’t the Army, it wasn’t even becoming a father, it was nursing school that taught me that. There is so much we can do if we put forth the effort and take that first step.”
“Just a few thousand dollars made all the difference. That changed everything for me, it was almost like a miracle.” —Bill Aitken Nursing Student
“There is so much financial burden on students and any dollars that goes to them allows them to refocus that energy they would otherwise be focusing on the stressor, and put the focus back on their studies, which is important,” he said. Today, Aitken is a month away from completing his degree and credits the COD Foundation and support of the Nursing Department for encouraging him and his success. Now he looks forward to one day returning the favor as a future donor and educator. “I think nursing and education go hand-in-hand,” he said. “There’s a certain responsibility as I gain clinical experience and an obligation to teach new nurses and get involved in their education. People have done it for me and I look forward to mentoring others, even coming back as a clinical instructor or professor.”
—Bill Aitken Nursing Student 2
Making an Impact As director of the McAninch Arts Center and this year’s volunteer co-chair of COD4COD, Diana Martinez is leading by example with a generous gift to the MAC General Fund. “When operating costs are low, it helps keep ticket prices low, summer concert series free, provide underprivileged children the opportunity to see a show who wouldn’t otherwise,” she said. Martinez gave to a cause that is close to her heart, the performing arts center, which is what she hopes her College of DuPage colleagues will consider— there are many programs and giving options where even a small donation can have a large impact. “I see amazing things happen all across our campus on a daily basis, from our incredible storm tracking team, to our study abroad and international students, shows at the MAC, to our exceptional preschool and culinary department, the list goes on and on,” she said. “I want to encourage everyone to give, even if it’s only $5,” Martinez said. “As employees we need to demonstrate our confidence in the success of the school and the confidence in the value the school has.”
“COD is a treasure we need to nurture and support to ensure it is here for future generations.”
New Gift Opportunity—Restore Aidos to View through COD4COD
— Diana Martinez Director of the McAninch Arts Center
Aidos—a term used by ancient Greeks for perfection of mind, body and spirit Donate today to recapture a piece of COD history with the reinstallation of Aidos! The ceramic mural, a collaboration between faculty, staff and students led by retired faculty Pam Lowrie and John Wantz, hung in the Physical Education Center from its opening in 1983 to 2012. The College has designated the Natatorium for the return of Aidos, with instruction from the Board of Trustees that funding for the $30,000 reinstallation come from the generosity of others. Help to bring this historic, inspiring work back to public view! Designate the Aidos Fund for your contribution through your giving to COD4COD.
For questions or to learn more, contact the COD Foundation at (630) 942-2462 or foundation@cod.edu. 3
Giving Students Opportunities for Success Thanks to a Resource for Excellence Grant, College of DuPage students have had the opportunity to work alongside national scientists conducting research that is typically conducted at the university level. COD Chemistry Professor Gary Roby is one of the first recipients of the College of DuPage Foundation’s Resource for Excellence Grant. Renewed for three years, the grant has allowed him to fund three students each summer in research laboratory internships at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) and Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
“Students have gotten jobs in university laboratories because of their experience, which these universities might not have looked at a COD student before.” —Gary Roby COD Chemistry Professor
“These opportunities have exposed COD in a way that is not necessarily just a community college— it’s a community college with top-notch education and programs.”
“Even if they never plan to go into research, the students will use the experiences they gain throughout the rest of their careers,” Roby said. At Fermilab, the grant affords a small weekly stipend to students, who are immersed in the laboratory with a 40-hour weekly schedule working alongside an organic chemist who develops scintillators, a detector for charged particles and gamma rays. And at Hope, the grant covers room and board for students during the 10-week immersion. Among the research COD students have participated in: looking for compounds to eliminate the leishmania parasites found in Third World countries and a known cause of elephantiasis, and the identification of heavy metals in tattoo ink, which is poisonous.
—Gary Roby COD Chemistry Professor
Roby said these experiences give COD students a distinct advantage. “Students applying to medical school can say they have worked in a laboratory, they know how to organize, keep records, troubleshoot and solve problems—that’s a huge plus that other students typically do not have.”
For questions or to learn more, contact the COD Foundation at (630) 942-2462 or foundation@cod.edu.
These experiences have also shone a light on COD and the Foundation. These days, tours of the college frequently include a stop on the third floor to view the Chemistry Department, where past internship participants’ research work is displayed. 4