Seniors leave lasting mark
This year’s senior gift is going to be a sign above the pedestrian tunnel on 400 North that marks the location of the USU campus, said MJ Henshaw, senior gift campaign chairperson. The senior gift committee spoke with the ASUSU Traditions and Campus Planning, and they all agreed upon the sign as the senior gift, said Lucia Rhodes, senior gift adviser. The sign’s location is also good because it enables everyone that goes by to identify USU, Rhodes said, and if a campus is identified, there is more of a sense of place felt.
“The senior gift is a good way for students to leave their legacy and contribute to USU,” Henshaw said.
The senior gift introduces students to the importance of alumni support and philanthropy at USU, Rhodes said. When a student donates to the senior gift, it is their chance to say thanks for the education, experience and memories USU has provided for them, Henshaw said.
Students who want to donate to the senior gift can either donate the standard gift, which is $20.08 total, or they can donate the legacy gift, which is a $100 pledge over three years, $20.08 given this year, $30 pledged for 2009 and $50 pledged for 2010, Rhodes said. With the legacy gift, students can honor three names in a special section of the Commencement Program if their money is received by April 8, she said.
“The best part of the senior gift is that students can honor three individuals or couples that have helped them through their college experience,” Henshaw said. “It is a priceless gift that students can give to them.”
Anyone can donate to the senior gift and can do so online at www.usu.edu/seniorgift or go to Old Main Room 106, where they will receive a Campaign for USU pin, Henshaw said.
The senior gift is a tradition that started a long time ago, but somewhere along the line it got lost, Rhodes said. She said there are senior gifts from past years all over campus including the Hello Walk outside the doors of Old Main, the wood carving of the phrase from Proverbs in the library, the bench by the business building and the outdoor amphitheater.
The university reinstated the senior gift four years ago. The first two years it started out as just money for scholarships, but more recently it is something more tangible that students can see and be proud of, Rhodes said.
-monica.swapp@aggiemail.usu.edu