PAYING IT FORWARD Donors share why they gave, what resonated.
“What can be more satisfying than knowing you are creating opportunities for deserving students to experience all that StFX has to offer,” say Tom ’71 and Gail Hayes who created the Thomas J. Hayes and Family Scholarship, supporting full-time African Nova Scotian undergraduate students. “The matching dollar program funded by Jeannine Deveau was the icing on the cake for us in creating a scholarship in our name for African Nova Scotian students. Kudos to Dr. Kent MacDonald ’86 ’93 for making this initiative a priority and a special mention to Iain Boyd ’75 for playing a key role in exceeding the $50 million goal!” Father-and-son Frank ’49 and Kevin McGilly ’86 created the McGilly Bursary to help current students experiencing financial hardship that jeopardizes their ability to stay at StFX to complete their studies. The financial aid team can use it at its discretion to help students in need. “There are several reasons my dad and I decided to contribute to the Xaverian Fund. StFX is a bond we share, and the bursary is a way to celebrate that bond and show our gratitude and pride as Xaverians. We wanted it to help address, however modestly, the growing problem of accessibility to education. One in six university students in Canada drops out before completing a degree, and financial hardship is one of the main reasons. It’s a great loss when that happens, both for that student and for society. So, we wanted to help StFX students facing financial adversity to stay at X and make it a bit easier for them to fulfill their dreams,” says Kevin. Recipients have written to the McGillys about their challenges and triumphs. “I can’t overstate how gratifying it is
“StFX is a bond we share, and the bursary is a way to celebrate that bond and show our gratitude and pride as Xaverians.” Kevin McGilly ’86 to us to know that they were able to continue their studies. It’s one of the most rewarding things either of us has done.” The McGillys, to their knowledge the only father-son duo to edit the Xaverian Weekly, have gone to each other’s milestone Homecomings, including Frank’s 70th reunion in 2019 and say contributing to the Xaverian Fund is an obvious way to thank StFX for these shared experiences and the special place it holds in their lives. “We hope our donation helps other students and families build their own StFX bonds and memories.” Supporting young women in science and giving back to StFX were two main reasons Ted ’65 and Ann ’65 Turcotte established the Ted and Ann (MacDonald) Turcotte Bursary, which supports female students from Cape Breton and Massachusetts develop their potential in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering or mathematics programs.) “I always felt indebted to StFX. I felt my education provided such an important foundation,” says Ted, originally of Lowell, MA, who spent most of his career in technology. Ann, originally from St. Ann’s, Cape Breton, taught math for many 12
StFX ALUMNINEWS l WINTER 2022
THE XAVERIAN FUND HAS OPENED DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS. Here, some highlights: • 109 new scholarship and bursary funds established. • Over 3,000 scholarships, bursaries and financial awards supported. • 4,000 donors, including 58 donors contributing $100,000 or more. • StFX Board of Governors has 100 per cent participation, contributing over $2.5 million. • 50 per cent of full-time faculty and professional staff donated. • Financial aid for students in need more than doubled since the fund was established, going from $400,000 annually to over $1 million annually and growing • Donations have ranged from $10 to $6.24 million.
years, ending her career as a guidance counsellor. “StFX has been very important to me, and to my family, I really wanted to give back,” she says. Ann says her ties to StFX started early through family, and she was truly appreciative of support she received as a student. Both say they wanted the bursary to target young women, often underrepresented in the technology field. “I knew, just give them confidence and provide support, then wow, they could do it,” says Ann. In 2015, representing his aunt, Jeannine Deveau ‘44, Bill Gunn was exploring options to support the educational achievement of African Nova Scotians and Indigenous Canadians, in particular for the Mi’kmaw First Nation. In speaking with those communities, he learned of some unfortunate historical relations, but also of positive recommendations for specific faculties and undertakings at StFX that might be the basis of building further. “And so it has proven to be. We developed a strategy of matching funding from other donors if they would agree also to channel their funds to support educational opportunities at StFX for African Nova Scotian and First Nation (Mi’kmaw) learners,” he says of the Jeannine Deveau Education Equity Endowment Fund. “The results have been extraordinary, with significant additional resources leveraged. I’m led to believe the Deveau funding has begun to be transformational for StFX. Possibly. But there is more to do, in creating opportunities and to make StFX a more equitable learning environment. To that end, there is more Deveau matching funding available, and I’m hopeful others might join the effort.”
