Gilbert Cisneros, BA ’94, his wife, Jacki, and their twin sons
arrived on campus, he visited D.C. and invited her to lunch. In addition to chatting about the area’s best Mexican restaurants, Cisneros told her to contact him if she ever needed help or advice. “I’m thousands of miles from my home and family and so it’s great to know that there are others looking out for me,” Reyes said. “I don’t know if it’s because we are both Latinos or we are both part of GW, but he made me feel like we were in this together.”
More Than Signing a Check As a student, Cisneros enjoyed the charged atmosphere of living and studying in D.C. A political science major, he was inspired by on-campus speeches from an array of national leaders, including President Ronald Reagan and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. An avid Colonials basketball fan, he also attended nearly every home game while at school and witnessed the team’s run to the NCAA’s tournament Sweet 16 in his junior year.
“Once we had this great gift bestowed upon us, we were blessed to be able to turn around and help others.” — Gilbert Cisneros
“My college experience was wonderful,” he said. “It was fun. It was exciting. I wouldn’t change it for anything.” Today, Cisneros is a member of GW’s Athletic Advisory Council and serves as co-chair of the Columbian College component of the university’s comprehensive fundraising campaign. (See story, page 36.) He is also a member of the college’s National Council for Arts and Sciences, acting as a strong advocate for educational access and diversity. Aside from his service and generosity to GW, Cisneros and his wife support educational initiatives for Latino students in California through the Gilbert and Jacki Cisneros Foundation. Their donations fund a slew of projects, including scholarships for students in Hispanic districts, grants to improve math education in Orange County schools and an ongoing “Bags of Books” gift for kindergarteners. The lottery windfall also allowed Cisneros to cover college costs for his family and freed him to pursue a lifelong passion for travel. But most recently his focus has been the birth of twin sons, Alexander and Christopher. “That African safari I always wanted to take is looking more like the jungle cruise at Disneyland,” he joked.
columbian college of arts and sciences cisneros page 35