- Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
- Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work
- College of Arts, Sciences & Education
This year, alumni at FIU competed to earn their college or school money for student scholarships.
The challenge? Each of FIU’s 11 colleges and schools was given a participation goal to see whose alumni can band together to donate in support of their alma mater. Each gift to FIU from an alumnus, no matter the size, counted as one vote toward the college or school from which the donor graduated.
The Class of 2018 put up $10,000 for student scholarships – the coveted FIU Alumni Participation Challenge prize. The scholarship money will be split among the first three colleges and schools who reached or surpassed their participation goals.
“Nothing is more important than giving future Panthers greater opportunity to succeed, and that was the mindset behind our creative efforts to raise over $10,000 for our FIU,” said former Student Government Association-BBC President Leo Cosio of the money the Class of 2018 contributed for the Alumni Participation Challenge awards. “Alumni are better off by giving back, because by increasing the value of their alma mater, they increase the value of their degrees, and it makes all of us more competitive in our communities.”
HWCOM alumni joined forces to earn a landslide victory, reaching 170% of their participation goal. They earned $5,000 in scholarships for current HWCOM students.
“I am not surprised that although few in number, our alumni are large in heart. They have always shown a commitment to supporting FIU and the next generation of doctors. Many of them regularly visit our campus, mentor our students, stay in touch with faculty, and now are giving back financially so that others can follow in their white coats,” said HWCOM Dean and Senior Vice President for Health Affairs Dr. John Rock.
Stempel College alumni took second place, reaching 100% of their participation goal and earning $3,000. And CASE alumni came in at a close third, also reaching 100% of their participation goal. They bring in $2,000 for their college.
In total, 5,561 alumni participated in the challenge this year, showing their Panther Pride by donating more than $1,000,000 to FIU.
“As alumni, we all have so many opportunities to give back to our university, whether it be through mentoring, advocacy, financial support, or so many other avenues,” said President of the Alumni Association Board of Directors Maria Garcia ’05, JD ’08, a two-time alumna and challenge participant. “When we give back, we renew our commitment to being part of FIU beyond our days as students, and the recent FIU Alumni Participation Challenge gave a great number of alumni that chance to recommit to our FIU. It was a pleasure to participate as an alumna of both FIU Law and the Honors College.”
Paws up, Panthers!