The Magazine of The University of Montana
Email Article Raising Montana
Culture Of Giving:Students Give Back To UM Through Senior Challenge
Above: UM graduates at Commencement Bottom: A 1915 photo of two men sitting on the 1910 bench
A September 22, 1910, Kaimin article described the class memorial as a place for students to “wait for the car,” adding that it was expected to become a “favorite trysting place.”
Much has changed around the 1910 bench. Cars no longer drive around the Oval, the landmark Grizzly statue has become a focal point, and the new Payne Family Native American Center is now its backdrop. But the quirky bench, with supports shaped like tree stumps and seat back etched with the numerals 1910, is a lasting reminder of those who passed this way before.
“The University and the student body feel grateful to the Class of 1910 and hope that classes to come will make as fitting choice as they,” wrote the Kaimin.
Class memorial efforts have come and gone over the years. These days, the Senior Challenge, a student-run fundraising campaign, offers students an opportunity to be memorialized and contribute to future generations.
The Senior Challenge 2010 class gift will plant one or more trees on the Oval, helping to replace the historic Dutch elms destroyed by disease during the past decade. Facilities Services has a plan to replace them with maples and oaks, but the cost of $500 per tree thus far has been prohibitive.
“Our goal is to create a culture of student philanthropy—a message across the University that education and opportunities are dependent on private support,” says Sarayl Shunkamolah, Senior Challenge staff adviser at the UM Foundation. “I think students give back in many ways, but they don’t realize everything here isn’t covered by tuition and fees.”
Last year’s Senior Challenge raised $3,200, which was used to install a bike rack and plaque commemorating the Class of 2009 at The Payne Family Native American Center, with the remainder going to scholarships.
The suggested donation this year is $20.10, but contributions of any amount are welcome. Students who donated before April 23 were thanked in a Kaimin ad and also received a tassel charm to wear at Commencement.
Paul Vetersneck, a management information systems major from Washington state, decided to donate when he heard his gift would help plant a tree on the Oval.
“I thought what they were doing was really noble,” Vetersneck says. “I also learned that I could make a donation to any department on campus. The Information Systems department is something I’m really excited about. It seemed like the right thing to do to donate to them.”
He sees his donation as a way of saying thanks.
“Right now, students don’t have a lot of money, but it sends a message to the University and the department that they valued what they got there,” he says.
Duke Oliver, a senior in communication studies, chairs the Senior Challenge 2010 committee. After a twenty-year career coaching in Oregon, he enrolled at UM, which he calls “a jewel in the Rockies.”
“As a nontraditional student, I know the importance of the legacy we leave to the University and to future generations,” Oliver says. “You paid for an education, but what you’ve learned is worth so much more. And it will keep paying you the rest of your life.”
For more information about Senior Challenge 2010 or to make a donation online, visit http://supportum.org/give/exfund/seniorchallenge.html. Checks also may be sent to the UM Foundation, P.O. Box 7159, Missoula, MT 59807-7159.
