May 2004

Senior Class Raises Record Total, to Renovate Letts-Anderson Quad and Endow Community Service Fund

Members of the Class of 2004, their parents, and friends were all smiles on Saturday evening, May 8, as they strolled around the elegant Ritz Carlton ballroom in downtown D.C. in celebration of commencement and all it took to get to the noteworthy occasion. They had plenty to be proud of, too. Not only was the 2004 Senior Class Toast the largest event of its kind, with more than 1,000 attendees, but the Class of 2004 raised more than any other AU class in history for their Senior Class Gift.

AU President Benjamin Ladner remarked that this year’s seniors had come a long way since 1997 when a small group of graduating students gathered at Maggiano’s in Chevy Chase to present their Senior Class Gift to the university. That group raised approximately $6,000, compared to the more than $60,000 that the Class of 2004 raised. Last year’s Class of 2003 raised $42,000.

As the seniors and their families mingled and sampled the crème brulee, chocolate-covered strawberries, petit fours, and other delicious desserts, the highlight of the evening came when 2004 Class President, E.J. Stern, congratulated her peers on their special milestone. Stern introduced Senior Class Gift cochairs, Melissa Chin (who is also the 2004 Cherry Blossom Festival Queen) and Brie DeFelice. The cochairs proudly presented Dr. Ladner and AU with a check for $60,946, which will be used to renovate the Letts-Anderson Quad and to support the Eagle Endowment for Public & Community Service.

Eric Buesing, KSB/BSBA 2000, vice president of the Young Alumni Chapter, capped off the presentation with a warm-hearted champagne toast, congratulating the seniors on their many accomplishments, and welcoming them, at last, into the Alumni Association.

"It was a truly extraordinary evening," says Laura Swanstrom Reece, CAS/MA '02, assistant director of Alumni Programs and organizer of the event. "We had an incredible turn-out, and the event just gets better and better every year. It's so wonderful to see how invested the students are and to witness them taking pride in their year-long class gift project as it comes to fruition."

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