Senior gift goes to Solar Decathlon project

Every year since 1981, the members of the senior class have honored their time at Middlebury by giving a class gift to the College.

“The senior class gift is a way for seniors to show their appreciation for their time at Middlebury and also help support the College mission of challenging students to participate fully in a vibrant and diverse academic community,” said Catherine Kemboi ’11.

Kemboi, one of the gift co-chairs of The Senior Committee, is no stranger to the importance of giving back.

“I have been working the Phone-a-thon program for over a year and experience in the program really inspired me to get involved in fundraising for our senior class gift,” said Kemboi ’11.

Joyce Ma ’11, the other gift co-chair, is also experienced in working at the annual giving office as a fundraiser.

“After talking to people who give for different reasons, or who don’t give at all, I’ve learned that fundraising is not simply asking for money,” said Ma. “Rather, it is asking people to identify with the school and continue to support its institutions.”

As per tradition, the Senior Committee officially announced this year’s senior class gift at the 200 Days Party on Nov. 6 in Atwater Dining Hall. The class of 2011 and the Feb class of 2011.5 warmly received the announcement that the gift would contribute to the Solar Decathlon, a program to which both classes have been responsible for contributing and fundraising.

“The Solar Decathlon unites people with diverse interests,” said Kris Williams ’11. “All students will have the opportunity to actually help build the home. College students and community members will both be invited and encouraged to come down and swing a hammer. There is something uniquely satisfying about creating something tangible; and each senior will have the change to make a tangible difference by helping build the Solar Decathlon house.”

The 200 days party secured 200 donations, which represents 27 percent participation after one week of fundraising. The Senior Committee hopes that this momentum will build as fundraising continues over the year. The Solar Decathlon is something the whole senior class can rally behind because it reflects Middlebury values in many different ways.

“This project is truly an interdisciplinary effort that reflects the value of a liberal arts education,” said Williams. “We have English majors crafting our promotional materials and chemistry majors researching our building materials. After the competition, the home will become a permanent fixture on campus. We hope to finish construction at the final site by Homecoming 2011, so recent grads returning to Midd will be able to see the completion of the house and the impact of their senior gift.”

Beyond the monetary contribution to the project, the senior class gift is a symbol of student support. The Solar Decathlon team is honored by the enthusiasm of the senior class and eager to involve the class in making several key decisions such as, “Where should the home be located on the campus?” “How should it be used?”  “What part of the project should the senior class gift support?”

“And how should the building memorialize our lost classmates, Nick [Garza], Pavlo [Lavkiv] and Ben [Wieler]?”

The Senior Committee, which consists of 19 seniors and three underclassmen, spearheads the fund-raising drive and is also responsible for planning events and activities that will build class unity and create a foundation for alumni participation. The Committee is also given the opportunity to hear from various speakers, such as Bobo Sideli ’77 from the Middlebury Alumni Leadership Speaker Series, and learn why they feel giving back to Middlebury is so important.

“The senior class gift is an amazing tradition that allows one generation of students to support the next one and provide seniors with a glimpse of the huge impact philanthropy has on their education,” said Ann Crumb, associate vice president for college advancement. It is the last opportunity as a student — and the first opportunity for a soon-to-be alumnus — to give back to the College and to be part of the greater Middlebury community.

Students can contribute to the senior class gift by going to go/giveseniors. Both seniors and non-seniors can work class gift tables to collect donations, and everyone can make a difference by speaking to other students about the gift and raising awareness.

“The Senior Gift provides an opportunity for us Middlebury seniors to give back to a place we’ve come to love,” said Williams. “After passing four formative years at this College, the Senior Gift allows us all to leave something meaningful behind. The Solar Decathlon home will enrich the experience of future Middlebury students; and we all can take pride in that as the class of 2011.”

A Brief History

The tradition of giving a senior gift began in an effort to educate students about the importance of philanthropy and is currently run through Middlebury’s Alumni and Annual Giving Offices. In the early years of the Senior Class Gift, classes contributed gifts such as trees, benches and the clock outside of McCullough Student Center. As the tradition progressed, match funds were set up which enabled students to raise even more for their Senior Class Gift, giving them the ability to choose more meaningful projects such as scholarships and environmental support. This year, a generous anonymous donor has offered to donate $100 per senior for each of the first 250 seniors who donate the suggested amount of $20.11 or more. These first 250 seniors will also receive a Class of 2011 pint glass as a thank-you gift. While all the senior class gifts have been memorable, there are a few notable gifts that stand out:

1997: The Nature Trail in Memory of Colin O’Neill ’97 was established in memory of a classmate. This gift includes a fund for trail upkeep.
2002: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Memorial Fund was established to help with ADA access on campus
2007: The Green Fund was established to support environmental projects, and is a good example of the lasting impact of a Senior Class Gift. $95,000 was raised for this gift, and this fund is currently worth over $155,000.
2008: The Reading Room Restoration Project: The Class of 2008 was particularly interested in the historic value of the Reading Room in the Axinn Center at Starr Library. They wanted to make sure that even with the renovation happening at the time, the reading room would remain the same.
2009: A scholarship for international students.
2010: Funding the renovation of Woodstove Lounge in Proctor.