Class of 1989 Scholarship

Leadership is one of those qualities every university hopes to instill in its students by the time they graduate. The class of 1989 certainly didn’t have a monopoly on that particular quality, but it did have its share of fine leaders, as this scholarship demonstrates.

It is the CLU custom for each graduating class to present a parting gift to the University. The leaders of the class of ’89 stepped into previously uncharted territory when they announced that they would establish a scholarship in the name of their class. From the start the class officers intended to delay its award until the fund had reached endowment level which at that time was $5,000 level. They learned that their goal was more challenging than they had thought.

That’s where their special brand of leadership came in. The president of the class was Sheri Zinsmeister (later Groenveld) who served her class well during its senior year. Fortunately, she chose to remain a class representative after graduation. One of her first initiatives was to write to her fellow alumni inviting them to enroll in Giving 101 by making a gift to their alma mater. That gift, if they chose, could be applied to their named scholarship. With Sheri setting the pace, the class was eager to complete what they had started with their graduation gift.

There’s nothing quite like celebrating a hard-fought victory. In October 1991 Sheri and her fellow class officers were thrilled to be able to announce that the Class of 1989 Scholarship was fully endowed. They decided to designate the scholarship for an academically strong senior student with both campus involvement and financial need. The scholarship was awarded for the first time on Honors Day 1993.

Early on, a committee representing the class of ’89 selected the recipient. Eventually that responsibility was given to the CLU alumni office with input, whenever possible, from members of the class of ’89. In choosing to undertake the funding of an endowed scholarship the class exhibited remarkable leadership. Even more to their credit, members of their class have continued to build—and in fact double—the size of the scholarship since it was created. No other class has yet matched the leadership and generosity of that remarkable class of 1989.