Donor Stories

Honoring memories and milestones

Katherine Turner Alben ’69

Through her family’s Mary B. Haberzetle Turner Charitable Remainder Unitrust, Katherine Turner Alben ’69 is providing a “life-sustaining” education to future Mount Holyoke students. “Mount Holyoke provided me an education that served me well for my whole life. It’s that simple.”

Caroline Fuller Sloat ’65

Caroline Fuller Sloat ’65 recently created a charitable gift annuity honoring her parents. “They loved the College and were grateful for my financial aid,” said Caroline.

KC Maurer ’84

Trustee KC Maurer has honored beloved family members by making gifts to Mount Holyoke. Her goal: expanding access for a new generation of students.

Ruth R. Barney ’68

In gratitude to Mount Holyoke for expanding her worldview and inspiring her, Ruth R. Barney ’68 has left a legacy gift that honors her equally inspiring mother-in-law.

Catharine “Cat” Scheibner ’73

Catharine “Cat” Scheibner ’73 found her two lifelong loves at Mount Holyoke: politics and athletics. “I really believe in women’s education. There’s a huge difference when you’re in a coed setting.”

Diane Hashim Glynn ’68

“I would not have had this life without ��챬��,” wrote Diane Hashim Glynn ’68. “I have credited it, all my life, with my success and happiness.”

Robin Morse Edwards ’69

Mount Holyoke prepared Robin Morse Edwards ’69 to hold her own in a male-dominated profession. In appreciation for her outstanding education, she established a tradition of giving back to the College and added to it with a bequest to celebrate her 50th Reunion.

Anne Marsh Fields ’71

“I turned out to be a different kind of a person because I went to MHC,” said Anne Marsh Fields ’71. Her bequest will help future students to experience their own transformations at the College.

Peter Betzer and Susie Beers Betzer ’65

Susie Beers Betzer’s husband, Peter, pulled off a special holiday surprise for his favorite green griffin.

Tsun-yu “Chinnie” Kwan ’54

Recipients of the Vong-ling Lee 1919 Scholarship Fund, named for Tsun-yu “Chinnie” Kawn ’54’s mother, will come to know how their MHC journeys were paved by the legacy of a truly “uncommon woman” of remarkable humility, integrity, faith, perseverance and grace.

Income today, a gift for MHC later

Laura Bernstein ’65

As a student, Laura never imagined someday being an active donor. Her arrival in South Hadley came in the aftermath of family upheaval. Increased scholarship support and an attached waitressing job helped her to make ends meet.

Susan Haas ’71

“Women’s education matters,” said Dr. Susan Haas ’71. “I would never have grown the way I did at a coed school. It was a critical formative experience.”

Pat Kennedy Ascher ’60

“For any career, in any job that I wanted, Mount Holyoke was certainly a selling point,” said Pat Kennedy Ascher ’60. One of her gifts to the College provides her a steady income stream and will help students explore careers in public service.

Cindy Tether ’72

Cindy Tether '72 credits the College for giving her "the strength, the confidence and the energy" to help make the world a better place. Her gifts of appreciated stock allow her to give back to Mount Holyoke while saving on taxes.

Paula Furlong O’Hara ’66

The year after graduating, Paula Furlong O’Hara ’66 gave five dollars to The Mount Holyoke Fund. The next year she gave ten.

Donna Dube Hryb ’67

Donna Dube Hryb ’67, an Army veteran and retired social worker, credits Mount Holyoke with “opening her world.”

Julie C. Van Camp ’69

Julie C. Van Camp ’69 was a junior high student in Davenport, Iowa, when she first heard of Mount Holyoke, after stumbling upon a Good Housekeeping article about the Seven Sisters. Receiving a scholarship to Mount Holyoke “opened up a whole new world for me.”

Linda Cadigan ’68

“I believe in education and I believe in Mount Holyoke,” said Linda Cadigan ’68, who went on to a career in fundraising. “I would tell anyone there’s no experience in higher education comparable to going to a women’s college.”

Cyndy Curry ’63

As a clinical geneticist, Cyndy Curry ’63 has honed the ability to recognize patterns amid complex clinical presentations. She intends to continue Mount Holyoke’s pattern of preparing students for a complex world through a gift from her IRA to establish a charitable gift annuity — an act that both benefits the College and provides her with steady payments.

Sarah A. Nunneley ’63

By age 30, Sarah A. Nunneley ’63 was the first woman to complete residency and board certification in aerospace medicine.

Lasting impact

Penny Gill

In naming Mount Holyoke as a beneficiary of her retirement plan to establish a scholarship fund for international students, Professor Emeritus of Politics Penny Gill is proud to affirm the College’s commitment to fostering a global, diverse community.

Helen Davis ’76

Mount Holyoke equipped health care management professional Helen Davis ’76 “to lead, to question and to not be fearful about pushing back.” In honor of her fiftieth Reunion, Helen made a provision in her estate plan to create a scholarship at her alma mater that will provide future students with life-changing confidence.

Nancy G. Rosoff ’78

For former student-athlete Nancy G. Rosoff ’78, “being part of a team is magical.” She is helping to continue Mount Holyoke’s winning streak by supporting the Friends of Athletics Endowment in her estate plans and giving future students access to empowering opportunities.

Heidi Coutu ’79 and John Maturo

“Transformational,” is how Heidi Coutu ’79 describes her Mount Holyoke education. With a bequest, she’s proud “to nurture this place, where women from around the world can flourish and develop that fearlessness that is part of Mount Holyoke.”

Shelley Weiner Sheinkopf ’68

Upon retirement, Shelley found herself thinking back to her Mount Holyoke years and her lasting legacy. Her generous gifts will help expand the Art Museum’s collection of Judaica and enhance course offerings through a Jewish lens.

Ellen Walsh ’85

Ellen Walsh ’85 — a principal program manager at Adobe — came to Mount Holyoke looking for a different experience. “I didn’t give any thought to it being a women’s college. But I got more than I ever imagined. Mount Holyoke was transformative.”

Judy Parker Stone ’68 and Kayla Samuel ’23

Meeting over Zoom to discuss the endowed scholarship fund that connects them, Judy and Kayla exchanged stories about Mount Holyoke’s impact on their lives.

Ann Hewitt Worthington ’72

Ann Hewitt Worthington ’72 sees parallels between today’s political and societal unrest and that of her campus years. “We don’t know how the current upheavals will play out,” she said. “Students need the flexibility to prepare for the unknown.”

Zoe Hale, MD ’67

“It means everything to me to give back to Mount Holyoke. I have always felt completely and totally in debt to the College,” says Zoe Hale ’67.

Meg Harlor ’65

In her Mount Holyoke classes, Meg Harlor ’65, then known as Mickey Herz, always knew that her voice would be heard.

Maximizing retirement assets

Susan Wait ’73

Psychiatrist Susan Wait ’73 hopes that Mount Holyoke will continue to be a place where students feel “safe, empowered and supported.” This led her to name the College as a beneficiary of her retirement account and last year, she furthered her commitment by creating a charitable gift annuity using a qualified charitable distribution from her IRA.

Carly Bidner Basile ’16

“Mount Holyoke raised me,” said Carly Bidner Basile ’16. “It’s where I figured out how I wanted to engage the world.” Now, she has named the College as a beneficiary in her employer-provided life insurance policy to leave a legacy that will impact future students.

Anne Vittoria FP’05

After receiving a generous Mount Holyoke Fund scholarship, Anne Vittoria FP’05 was asked to write a thank-you note to the donor. She credits that request with inspiring her career path, as well as her own legacy gift.

Mary Ann Villarreal ’94

“Mount Holyoke connected me to a world that gave me access to the impossible,” said Mary Ann Villarreal ’94, the first in her family to attend college. “I give back because I felt like Mount Holyoke was my home and I want other people to find their home too.”

Catherine Russell Hammond ’65

Having a mother whose first job after graduating from Mount Holyoke was working for Eleanor Roosevelt inspired Catherine Russell Hammond ’65 to a career of public service. She gives back via her IRA and a legacy gift.

Ruth Rotundo Whitney ’66

A fourth-generation alum and distinguished social worker, Ruth Rotundo Whitney ’66 established a deferred gift annuity to provide income in her retirement.

Ellen Archibald ’69

Mount Holyoke boosted Ellen Archibald’s self-confidence and led her to new places. Her legacy gift will help future students to follow their dreams.

Planning for oneself and MHC

Irene Marianos ’99

For first-generation college student Irene Marianos ’99, the seeds of enduring personal growth were planted at Mount Holyoke. By establishing a flexible charitable gift annuity that will one day provide her with a steady source of income, she experiences “a trifecta of benefit for my current self, my future self” and the College.

Rhae Kennedy ’81

Thanks to a scholarship, Rhae A. Kennedy ’81 discovered the campus gates were the threshold to another world. “Mount Holyoke challenged me to think differently and make connections. It changed my life.”

Keith Landon ’91

Keith Landon ’91 attributed her “innate sense of confidence” to her four years at Mount Holyoke. Gratitude for her self-assurance is just one reason she volunteers and contributes today.

Diana Brassard ’90

For Diana Brassard ’90, establishing a deferred gift annuity not only benefited her retirement plans, but also allowed her “to pay it forward so that Mount Holyoke women get the support they need.”

Diane Miller ’86

When Diane Miller ’86 found herself finally earning a paycheck after years of medical school, one of her first decisions was to invest — in her future, and Mount Holyoke’s.

Maria Mossaides ’73

For Maria Mossaides ’73, the decision to establish a deferred charitable gift annuity wasn’t just about supplementing her income later in life.

Cornelia Griffin Farmer ’67

Cornelia “Connie” Griffin Farmer ’67’s career has taken her from one coast to another, and wherever she relocated, it was Mount Holyoke alums who made it feel like home.

Julie Oh Ybarra ’90

Joo-Yun “Julie” Oh Ybarra ’90 believes that it’s never too early to start planning for retirement.

Debby Hall and Jane Zimmy ’74

Though they didn’t know each other as undergraduates, Debby Hall and Jane Zimmy now share a bond forged through more than a decade as co-head class agents for their class. With the long-term in mind, both established deferred charitable gift annuities with Mount Holyoke.

Securing Mount Holyoke's future

Priyanjali Ghosh ’09

“How do you keep someone engaged in the story — someone who may be sitting in the dark whom you may never see?” As a Mary Lyon Society member, Priyanjali Ghosh ‘09 is engaging with generations of ��챬�� students whom she’ll never know but whose lives she will touch through her future bequest gift.