FOUNDATION NEWS
#BobcatGivingDay Through the Eyes of a Student
BY TY DEMARTINO ’90
Arguably, student Warren Evans gave the most on FSU’s #BobcatGivingDay. Not in money, but in his time, efforts and interaction with Frostburg alumni.
The junior from Westminster worked as a Student Engagement Ambassador with the FSU Office of Annual Giving, the administrative arm behind #BobcatGivingDay. As an SEA, Evans’ job was to “engage with alumni and faculty to spread the word.”
And engage he did.
Evans personally made more than 200 calls during the week leading up to #BobcatGivingDay and accepted many donations over the phone. On the day of the event, he texted, emailed and made even more calls encouraging alumni to support the initiative. But he was most visible starring in regular online videos giving updates on the campaign.
“I was featured in a few #BobcatGivingDay videos to spread the word and announce donation challenges,” he said.
The experience of witnessing the behind-the-scenes running of a campaign has been invaluable for Evans, who is a business administration major with a concentration in finance. He will be taking these experiences with him during an investment banking internship at JP Morgan in New York City this summer.
“I hope to receive a return offer after my internship to be a full-time analyst,” he said. “I would like to continue my career in the financial services industry.”
Being an SEA has also increased Evans’ overall confidence.
“My small talk has come a long way,” he said about making cold calls to strangers. “My interpersonal skills have given me the skills to connect with any and every one.”
He also learned a few things from Bobcats during his #BobcatGivingDay phone calls – including some personal advice about his own future.
“I got some amazing advice from alumni, as I get ready to finish school and enter corporate America,” he said, explaining that graduates encouraged him to stay strong during difficult and challenging times. “One that I liked was, ‘When things are easy and fun – it’s easy to be happy. But be happy when things get hard.’”
He also learned that FSU alumni love to chat about the weather, which was significant on #BobcatGivingDay, as Mother Nature gave the campus several sudden snow squalls.
“FSU alumni and donors do not like to stay in freezing Frostburg,” Evans joked. “They all tend to go to warmer locations like North Carolina and Florida.”
Now that’s good advice.