The 27th annual Northwestern Scholarship Luncheon will take place Thursday, Sept. 28. The luncheon will serve as a time of fellowship and appreciation for both NW scholarship recipients and donors.
As many as 500 students, donors, faculty and Board of Trustee members will gather over lunch to share photos and conversation and recognize new scholarship recipients and donors.
Organized by the advancement staff, the luncheon will include highlights such as a student recipient speaker, a donor speaker and a message from President Greg Christy.
Cornie Wassink, who has directed all 27 luncheons, notes the importance of the event.
“The luncheon enables the scholarship donors (or members of their family) and the recipients to become acquainted with each other and to share their stories,” Wassink said. “It has been very gratifying to see what a huge impact scholarships have had on our recruitment efforts and be able to reward many of our deserving students for their achievements both in and out of the classroom.”
Christy also recognizes the importance of interaction between students and donors.
“Students get to hear some of the donor’s stories and perhaps even why they set up the scholarship to begin with,” Christy said.
NW alumni programs director Aletha Beeson recognizes the financial support students receive from these scholarships.
“Everyone who comes to the luncheon is important, as students receive much support toward their tuition through these donors,” Beeson said.
Wassink noted another value to bringing students and donors together.
“The scholarship becomes more meaningful to the student than just a line item on their account in the business office,” Wassink said. “The scholarship recipient becomes a reality to the donor instead of just a name on a letter of acknowledgement.”
Christy also acknowledges the importance of connection between students and donors.
“It is one thing to make a gift or receive a gift,” Christy said, “but the power of the Scholarship Luncheon is to personalize it by seeing that a real person gave the money and a real person received the scholarship.”
Christy also notes how the luncheon captures core values of the college.
“The luncheon helps students see that the community of NW is much larger than those of us who live or work on campus,” Christy said.
The luncheon helps NW to branch out from a physical sense and into an outside world of giving and compassion.
