Loyola University New Orleans To Celebrate Scholarship Donors, Recipients At Annual Scholarship Dinner Tonight
NEW ORLEANS – Benefactors, students, faculty and staff of Loyola University New Orleans will gather tonight, Thursday, March 16, at the Audubon Tea Room, at 6:30 p.m., to honor the generosity of those who provided scholarship support for the 2016-17 academic year.
The annual special event provides scholarship recipients the opportunity to meet their benefactors, thank them personally for their support, and let them know how the scholarships they have received have impacted their lives.
“It is a special moment when students meet donors who helped make their Loyola dreams possible,” said Vice President of Institutional Advancement Chris Wiseman, Ph.D. ‘88. “Our students help make our donors’ dreams come true as well. Our benefactors are thrilled when students arrive at Loyola with talent and hope, and go on to graduate with new perspectives and the skills to make life better for those around them.”
The evening’s featured scholarship recipient speakers are public relations major and freshman Haleigh Bourque, and senior Julia Smith, double major in international business and accounting. Bourque is the recipient of the School of Mass Communication Scholarship. Smith is the recipient of the Francis Robert O’Brien, Sr., Memorial Scholarship, the Taylor Scholarship, and the William Wildes Endowed Scholarship.
Both students were chosen in a February “speech-off” contest in which scholarship recipients read aloud their essays — heartfelt expressions of gratitude that share what scholarship contributions mean to recipients and their families. The student speeches are a highlight of the evening for Loyola donors, who will be seated with recipients of the scholarships they helped to establish.
The evening’s program will include music by talented student musicians from the College of Music and Fine Arts and expressions of gratitude from Loyola’s president, the Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D.
Loyola Board of Trustees member and Faith in the Future Co-Chair S. Derby Gisclair will also toast the Loyola scholarship donors with Wolf Pack Cuvée, a wine created by alumnus Bob Almeida ’72 that raises money towards academic scholarships.
“Thanks to very recent gifts by Loyola trustee and alumnus Dennis Cuneo, retired music faculty member John Mahoney, and the estate of Tric Sehrt, I am proud and grateful to report that Loyola’s Faith in the Future campaign has surpassed its $20 million goal for scholarships,” Wildes said. “We are so grateful to them and to all our donors for their generosity and support of Loyola. The Faith in the Future campaign is the most ambitious and successful campaign in Loyola’s history, with more than $66 million raised toward a goal of $100 million. Because we believe in pursuing the magis at Loyola, we will keep building on our success and working to raise even more scholarship dollars for our students.”
