An Alum Gives Back So Others Can Achieve

Tom Sears, a 1956 Cornell College graduate, had been feeling insecure among classmates from Ivy Leagues schools and other outstanding universities as he began his Masters program at Boston University. He wondered if he could keep up with his peers. That fear was dissipated when he saw his mid-semester grades.

How could he have done so well? The reason was, he concluded, "I was better prepared for graduate school than my classmates," he says.

That light bulb moment--thanks to firm grounding from Cornell--gave Tom newfound confidence to achieve.

His successful career path eventually brought him back to Cedar Rapids, where he grew up and still lives today. For 27 years, he was a professor of history at Kirkwood Community College.

Because he deeply values the merits of a Cornell education and wants to connect Kirkwood students with that same opportunity, Tom and his wife, Margaret, created an endowed scholarship in 2010. Annually, two Kirkwood transfer students are awarded this scholarship while attending Cornell for his or her undergraduate degree.

In addition, Tom, who has dyslexia (and learned to read his freshman year at Cornell from textbooks and "Moby Dick"), recently added a provision in his will to support Cornell's Center for Teaching and Learning. The endowed fund that Tom's bequest will create will provide support for students with learning disabilities and "help them to succeed," says Tom.

He believes that because Cornell gave him so much, it's his responsibility--and his privilege--to give back so others can benefit from the college's "outstanding liberal arts education."

"I do not believe I am a self-made man," he says. "There were many who helped me along the way."

Today, Tom and Margaret pay that gratitude forward.

To provide support for Cornell through an endowment gift, contact the Office of Alumni & College Advancement at 319.895.4315 or [email protected] .