KOKOMO, Ind. — Indiana University Kokomo celebrated the donors who make educational opportunities available to students, at the annual Chancellor’s Guild dinner.
Approximately 80 donors and friends attended the elegant event, hosted by Chancellor Susan Sciame-Giesecke in the Art Gallery. It honors those who have given $1,000 or more in the last year.
Sciame-Giesecke provided a campus update, sharing information about the new Student Activities and Events Center that is expected to open in 2020, the success of the athletics programs, and the KEY program, which provides travel-based experiential learning opportunities for students.
“Life is good at IU Kokomo, and it’s good because of all of your contributions, and what we’re doing,” she said. “We’re looking forward to the future.”
Freshman Marie Ramos Hernandez thanked donors on behalf of scholarship recipients like herself, noting that their support makes it possible for students to achieve their dreams. The North Manchester resident plans to become a pediatric nurse, and eventually a pediatrician, to work at IU Health Riley Children’s Hospital.
“Because of people like you, I was given the opportunity to continue my education,” the first-generation college student said. “Because of generous donations you give to students like myself, more goals can be achieved. Because of people like you, the possibility of reaching one’s goals is increased by the hope that you give, to become another graduate of IU Kokomo.”
Tracy Martino, executive director of the Family Service Association of Howard County, spoke as both an alumna and a donor, noting that she and her husband both earned degrees at IU Kokomo, and their son will enroll as a freshman in August.
“IU Kokomo helps students reach their fullest potential, provides them with community engagement opportunities, and is one of the best educations that money can buy,” she said. “We donate because we know education changes lives like it changed ours. This campus goes above and beyond every day, not only for its students, but for its community, helping Kokomo and Howard County be one of the best places to live and work in Indiana.”
Thirty-five donors were honored as members of the Seiberling Society, for giving more than $5,000 during the year. Each received an award hand-made by Kokomo Opalescent Glass.
Seiberling Society members honored included:
First year: Benjamin Chiu and Melissa Hall, Robert and Deborah Christensen, Four County Counseling Center, Howard County Government, Brian and Angela Shockney, the Thrush-Thompson Foundation, Inc., and an anonymous donor.
Second year members: Sita C. Amba-Rao, William and Marilyn Bersbach, Duke Energy Foundation, Daniel Grundmann and Julie Paris, Robert Mullen and Diana Delgado, and Allen Safianow.
Third year: Mike Anderson, Button Motors, cfd Investments, Inc. – Brent Owens, Community First Bank of Indiana, Susan Sciame-Giesecke and Dan Giesecke, NIPSCO, Charles and Alice Simons, and Jack and Pam Tharp.
Fourth year: First Farmers Bank & Trust, Harold and Sherry King, Kokomo Grain Company, Inc., Herbert Miller, and an anonymous donor.
Fifth year: Community Howard Regional Health, V. William and Nancy Hunt, and Paul Stanley Jr.
Sixth year: Philip Kintzele
Seventh year: Judith Golitko, Jeffrey and Lisa Smeltzer, and Solidarity Community Federal Credit Union
Eighth year: Community Foundation of Howard County, Inc., and Kathleen Ligocki
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.