Alumni Blog

Last September, Black Student Union (BSU) president Adilia Watson, ’21, introduced alumni to the BSU Scholarship Endowment—the first student-led, Black-serving scholarship at Seattle University. Since then, BSU has raised a remarkable $113,000 towards their initial goal of $200,000. This includes more than $19,000 donated during Seattle U Gives on February 25, 2021. We sat down with Watson, BSU leader Tatianah Summers, ’21, and advisors Colina Bruce, ‘15, and LaKesha Kimbrough to hear how participation in Seattle U Gives has impacted the scholarship and how alumni can continue to support and uplift fundraising efforts.

Finding Success During Seattle U Gives

Seattle U Gives 2021 took place on Thursday February 25, 2021. In an emphatic, Black-led showing of support, amplification and allyship, the Seattle U community raised over $19,000 for the BSU Scholarship Endowment.

How did Seattle U Gives impact your fundraising efforts?

Summers: “It was an awesome opportunity for BSU to be a part of and it coincided really well with Black History Month. It’s encouraging that the university supported us in that way. I feel like our platform was being uplifted throughout the Seattle U Gives extravaganza.”

Bruce: “The experience, the support, the intentionality that went into amplifying the message and the goal of the scholarship—it elevated the opportunities to give and diversified the giving pool to people who may not have been familiar with the effort in the past.”

What did it mean to be included in Seattle U’s giving day?

Summers: “In all honesty, it does come down to money a lot of the time. I think that’s something that Black students struggle with in particular—the ability to access higher education and to be in that conversation. The fact that we were invited to be in Seattle U Gives was incredible because it solidified that yes, BSU is doing great work, and here is support for us to get that funding. That holds a lot of weight. We were grateful to be included and we’re excited for more opportunities like this.”

Kimbrough: “The word that comes to mind for me is validation. Validation is huge in reaffirming, in saying “I see you.” As folks making big decisions in the university, saying “We see you.” As trustees who voted in favor of the endowment, saying “We see you. You matter.” And those are significant messages that we all need to hear. I’m thankful that these students who have been doing such amazing, amazing work to bring this to fruition have that validation—through securing the endowment and through Seattle U Gives this year. That was huge to me, and almost made me teary-eyed for the students. There’s so much in being validated, in being told “we see you and you matter.”

Looking Forward to the Future

Beyond Seattle U Gives, the Black Student Union has put time, passion and energy to make the scholarship as wide-reaching as possible, including social media campaigns and hosted events like the 3rd Annual BSU Showcase and the BSU Virtual Auction. The scholarship is now endowed. However, BSU still needs more than $85,000 to meet their initial goal of $200,000 and to ensure more Black students will benefit when distribution begins in fall 2021. Learn more about what’s planned for their upcoming fundraising efforts, and how you can get involved.

What is next step in fundraising for the scholarship?

Summers: “We have around $113,000. So we’re doing pretty well, considering we just started fundraising about a year ago. But we do to push this farther, so that we can reach more students and be a resource for more students. Our donation website is still open. That will never close, and that will always be an option.”

Watson: “We’re having another fundraiser in the spring, and part of our marketing in the fall will hopefully use in-person aspects. Our goal is to be able to give out sizeable donations to a number of students, so we have to keep fundraising. The scholarship will continue to grow.”

Bruce: “It’s significant that this is a student-led effort. Now that the scholarship is endowed, it will continue in perpetuity. (…) The first distribution will come in the fall, which opens the door for it to be accessed by incoming freshman. That also provides an opportunity for it to be used for outreach and recruitment for more students of Color and more students that may face financial barriers.”

How can alumni get involved in fundraising efforts?

Summers: “It seems like alumni are really excited about this and really interested in being a part of this. (…) It doesn’t have to be money. It can be mentorship or partnership with students. Getting the funding to go to SU is the first step, but feeling comfortable here is a really important piece of it, too—and something that SU needs to work on.”

Watson: “Alumni, especially Black alumni, can push this more with their networks. Even if an alum doesn’t have the money themselves, maybe they have an employer who does. It’s as simple as reaching out and asking the question—asking people who inherently have more money in their pockets to help their community.”

Bruce: “There are a lot of alums, especially those of African descent, who can look back at their own experience as a student and relate to what’s going on now. I think there’s a lot of pride and support that can come from this. Not only monetary, but from sharing with their networks, amplifying and using their own stories and voices as well to express the importance and significance of this scholarship.”

• Make a Gift to the BSU Scholarship Endowment

• Sign up to be a Mentor

• Follow BSU on Instagram

• Follow BSU on Facebook

Michelle Clements (left) and Yolanda Cieters (right)

As we begin Earth Month 2021, our alumni community is diving deeper into climate action. We spoke with Yolanda Cieters, sustainability manager in the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (CEJS), and Michelle Clements, ‘15, vice president of Human Resources—two individuals committed to making Seattle U sustainable. As members of the President’s Committee for Sustainability, Cieters and Clements are helping to drive award-winning change university-wide, creating a more socially, fiscally and environmentally just Seattle U.

Finding Inspiration at Seattle University

As an avid runner, hiker, and an outdoor enthusiast, Michelle Clements has always had a passion for the role nature plays in inspiring, rejuvenating, and healing the human spirit and for preserving natural spaces. She began the Albers Leadership Executive MBA program while working as the senior vice president for human resources at REI, and it was at Seattle U that she found new ways to engage with and expand on her passion for environmental justice.

“What’s different about SU’s Executive MBA program is the focus on leadership,” says Clements. “You are not just getting your MBA, there is an intense emphasis on your personal leadership, which is then woven into everything we do, preparing us to use our vision and skills to make a profound impact in our companies and communities. In this program, we looked at a deep definition of social justice, at the center of Seattle University’s mission. Each cohort is responsible for delivering a social justice project with sustainability components which extend beyond our time with the program—our objective in this program is to develop a community-based project focused on social justice and built to last. This requires a deep engagement with the community we were serving to ensure the project will be sustained over time.

“I think about sustainability in terms of socially-responsible practices. By engaging in programs such as charitable fundraising, creating safe & healthy workplace conditions, encouraging volunteerism, and addressing the way in which resources are used and redeployed we can be better positioned to address climate change and mitigate its disproportionate impacts. If we empower people and engage our communities, we can carry this work forward to make real change happen.”

Clements has worked to carry this responsibility into her role as vice president of human resources at Seattle U. She had served on the President’s Committee for Sustainability (PCS) for the past four years, where she has collaborated with the PCS team to effect socially and environmentally conscious change at Seattle U. This has included implementing sustainable waste management, procuring grants for electric car charging stations and more.

“Our opportunity with the PCS is to jumpstart progress across campus, by engaging our full campus community in identifying important actions we can take toward real and sustained progress.”

Celebrating Earth Month 2021

April is Earth Month—Seattle U’s month-long celebration of climate action taking place in the weeks leading up to the internationally-recognized Earth Day (April 22nd). Alums looking to start their sustainability journey—and those looking to augment their expertise—have a wide variety of opportunities to look forward to.

Yolanda Cieters is helping to make this year’s Earth Month a success. “Earth Month is a reminder to folks how important it is to participate in action and initiatives that really focus on that urgent need for environmental justice, climate solutions and sustainability,” says Cieters.

“The one word that comes to mind when I think sustainability is wellbeing. It’s about achieving and attaining wellbeing of people and of our planet. It’s about working towards ensuring that we have social, environmental and economic wellbeing. That we can meet the needs of today, while being mindful of the next generation.”

Cieters has worked to create wellbeing across the globe—from her work with the Regional Integration Center of Brussels to Seattle’s World Affairs Council, Pacific Village Institute and Longhouse Media. She was drawn to Seattle U’s intersection of mission and education—its values of justice, diversity and care for the common good coupled with its commitment to educating future leaders.

“To achieve sustainability, we have to treat the social, environmental and economic climate as a tightly interconnected system, and all of these areas affect each other,” says Cieters. “As an institution, it’s important that we consider all of these areas simultaneously, and that we ensure that all the decisions we make will lead to positive, just and equitable impacts.”

At Seattle U, Cieters has been a campus leader in multilateral sustainability—including on the PCS, where she has been a key figure in progressing the committee’s goals. She was awarded the 2018 Seattle University Lee Thurber Outstanding Staff Award for distinguished service. “Yolanda is a true champion, committed to engaging others to take action and achieve results,” says Clements. “She received the award in 2018, yet, continues to bring her deep dedication and commitment to this work every year. She’s one of our top champions for sustained environmental responsibility on SUs campus.”

During Earth Month 2021, participants can look forward to Earth Talks—a virtual extravaganza of short, 5-minute presentations by SU faculty, students, staff, and community partners. The event is keynoted by Jamie Margolin, co-founder of the international youth climate justice movement Zero Hour, and Donna Moodie, executive director of the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict and executive vice president of community development at Community Roots Housing.

Alumni are also encouraged to attend the latest Reading Redhawks, a book club-style session on Climate Justice in the Biden Administration. Join the Environmental Studies Program for this panel discussion featuring professors Tanya Hayes, PhD, Heidi Liere, PhD and John Armstrong, PhD.

Further Your Eco Impact

Alumni looking to further their sustainability commitment have a myriad of initiatives, programs and groups to explore at Seattle U.

Alumni with interest or expertise in climate change and social justice can volunteer as mentors for current students, supporting the next generation of ethical leaders and changemakers. “This generation of students is deeply committed to addressing climate change—to really taking the action,” says Clements. “Seattle U is about involving our students in the critically important work of environmental justice—the hope is that students can use what they’re learning here and take action in our local, national and global communities.”

Clements is a current Sustaining Supporter—Seattle U’s first paperless giving society—for which she gifts a portion of her monthly salary towards advancing SU’s mission. Alumni who are able to give monetarily can make a monthly contribution to CEJS to further the department’s initiatives.

Alumni can also join the Alumni Sustainability Coalition to educate, engage and empower the SU community. “The commitment is there across our alumni community to really make sure we infuse sustainability across what we do,” says Cieters. “Together, we will continue to develop that commitment. I’m very hopeful about that.”

“Today, we have a committee with a passion to making an impact,” says Clements. “Five years from now, I’d like to see a large group of champions across our campus engaged in making a meaningful and sustained impact. A community effort, rather than a small committee, looking to make a meaningful and sustained impact in our local community and beyond.”