Alumni stories of support
UC San Diego’s first-ever Giving Day is right around the corner—May 16, 2019. We’ll have 32 hours (roughly 1,960 minutes—for our founding year!) to show and share our support for the university we came from. Triton magazine is sparking the spirit early by asking alumni about why they choose to give back, the difference they want to make for current UC San Diego students and the future of our university.
LaWana Richmond, EdD ’15
Graduate student, Education Studies
Why do you give to UC San Diego?
I support the mission, of course, but on the larger scale, it’s the time I’ve spent understanding just what goes on behind the scenes at UC San Diego that has had the greatest impact. It’s not just the pretty stuff (buildings, research, and graduation ceremonies), but the time and effort put into how the cake is made. And, particularly, how the political and socioeconomic climate is affecting funding for UC San Diego. Whether or not the state or federal government wants to support the university, I believe that students deserve access and that’s my biggest priority—access. And I deeply support professional development for staff.
What are you most proud of from your time here?
This is my 14th year on staff—I started in a relatively small role that I was only planning to stay in for a couple of months while finishing my master’s degree. I’ve gone on to complete my doctorate here while working full time. Now I work in central administration, and I’ve come to know how much the faculty and staff care about what they do. Every day, I’m able to go home and feel good about what I’m doing to support the future. I’m most proud of helping students and staff connect with their confidence and strength, and helping them move forward with mentoring and professional development.
What impact do you want to make at UC San Diego?
I would like to influence ways to support experiential learning for students and professional development for staff. I do a lot of events where I bring people together. I’m really interested in intergenerational sharing and exploring the best way to have a heterogeneous community. We need to invite everyone to the table in a genuine way because getting diverse perspectives should influence everything that we are doing. It’s really the only way to uncover and test the best solutions.
Tricia (Thompson) Simpson ’84
Muir, Communications
Why do you give to UC San Diego?
The short answer is to provide access to students who need it. I come from a long line of UC grads, and my siblings and I all graduated from UC San Diego (Tricia ’84, Scott ’86 and Karen Thompson ’88). There was never a question that we would attend college, and frankly, we never considered going anywhere other than a UC campus because of their status as premier public universities. We were fortunate that our parents were able to plan and save for our tuition and housing, while we were individually responsible for books and personal expenses. I give because I want ambitious students who aspire to graduate from UC San Diego—particularly those who are financially independent—to have access to resources to help them earn their degree like we did.
What are you most proud of from your time here?
I’m most proud of my internship with the public defender in Washington, DC. It was the most broadening experience I’d had at that point in my life. I didn’t know what I was getting into, but it worked out. I’ve repeated similar leaps of faith several times in my career, opening up great opportunities with equally good outcomes.
What impact do you want to make at UC San Diego?
I want to ensure that the foundation for future students is sound: world-class professors, educational opportunities off campus, and an inclusive and diverse campus that welcomes and challenges students. I want graduates to leave with the confidence that they are ready for their next steps in the world and with a degree from a university they can always be proud of.
Kim MacConnel ’68, MFA ’72
Muir, Visual Arts
Why do you give to UC San Diego?
The great minds I was exposed to as a student and came to love way back then inspired me with their unsparing generosity. I want that to continue. My career as an artist, indeed the “art movement,” started at UC San Diego. I helped found Pattern & Decoration, or P&D, as it became known in the mid-’70s. It began with early discussions with another student, Robert Kushner ’71, and our mentor and friend Amy Goldin. It was life-changing.
What are you most proud of from your time here?
I’ve had a long history with UC San Diego—as a student, alumnus, professor and department chair—and it all speaks to why or how I became committed over time to honoring the institution, teachers, ideas, discussion, and certainly fellow alumni and students who benefit from a life-changing education. My commitment to UC San Diego only gets stronger.
What impact do you want to make at UC San Diego?
Whether through our yearly gift or through our estate trust, my wife and I aim to support the university’s teaching mission and Visual Arts students for some time to come. Be it bringing in visiting artists to give talks, or covering materials so students have what they need for projects, we want to support student progress. I hope our giving might encourage others of like mind to do the same.
Nate Wilbanks ’18
Roosevelt, International Studies
Why do you give to UC San Diego?
I became involved with philanthropy and community conscientiousness early on with the Student Foundation. Our campus was my first home away from home, and I have always been inclined to give back to my community. The Student Foundation was a perfect fit as I was able to give and fundraise in the name of student support and success.
What are you most proud of from your time here?
I’m proud of those early days and events in the Student Foundation, where I met the students that were directly receiving the support we were working so hard to provide. Seeing our hard work and interminable hours of tabling and cold-calling for donations come to fruition in the form of scholarships and programs has been a deciding factor in my continued career in philanthropy.
What impact do you want to make at UC San Diego?
I want to support mental health resources on campus. Student success is aided by much more than receiving scholarships—mental health plays a huge role in helping every member of the Triton community be their healthiest and most capable selves. No one in our community should ever feel alone, unseen, or unheard, and there is so much that we can all do, including giving, to help make our community stronger.