Why Alumni Give Back: Eagle Giving Day

When you visit a college, you hear plenty about what happens during the four years (or three years, or five years in my case). You tour the dorms, sit in on a class, meet a coach or a professor, and picture what life might look like on campus.

There’s another question worth asking, and it’s one most families never think to ask: what do students feel about this place after they leave?

The answer says a lot. Graduates who still show up, still call their old coach, still cheer for their former team and still give back to the program that shaped them are telling you something no brochure or webpage can. They’re saying the experience was real, and that it mattered enough to stay connected.

At the University of Northwestern – St. Paul, one of the clearest places to see that is Eagle Giving Day.

Why I Give

Every year on Eagle Giving Day, I make two gifts: one to UNW Baseball and one to the Stoltz School of Business. I don’t give to them out of obligation. I give because those two places shaped who I am and grew me as a leader.

Baseball gave me brothers. I was a catcher at Northwestern, and some of my best friends today are the pitchers I worked with day in and day out. Together we chased success, pushed through hard seasons, celebrated the wins that felt impossible, and learned what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself. It was never just about baseball. Those years taught me lessons about discipline, humility, perseverance and faith that I still lean on today. The friendships didn’t end when we hung up our cleats; they grew into the kind of brotherhood that shows up at weddings, walks with you through hard seasons and picks up the phone years later like no time has passed.

Business gave me a foundation. As a marketing major with minors in accounting and Bible, I was equipped with the knowledge and skills to be career-ready on day one. Just as important, I was exposed to opportunities that opened my eyes to what was possible: real-world experiences, people and conversations I wouldn’t have found on my own. My professors didn’t just teach me business; they showed me how to do meaningful work with integrity.

When I give to those two areas, I’m saying thank you. I’m also investing in the students who are standing exactly where I once stood, so they can have an even better experience than I did. I happily give, and I’ll keep doing it for as long as I can.

What Is Eagle Giving Day?

Eagle Giving Day is one day each fall when the entire Northwestern community (alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends) comes together to support current students and advance the mission of the university. This year it falls on Thursday, October 22.

What makes it special is that donors give where their hearts are. Rather than one general fund, Eagle Giving Day offers giving pages for areas all across campus: athletic teams, academic departments, music and theatre, ministry programs, student life projects and the Northwestern Scholarship Fund, which helps make a Christ-centered education possible for students with financial need.

So a former soccer player can support today’s soccer team. A nursing graduate can invest in the next generation of nurses. A choir alum can help send current singers on tour. Each gift goes directly to the place that made a difference in that person’s life.

Last year, 877 people said yes to Eagle Giving Day. This year, the goal is 1,000 donors in a single day. The emphasis isn’t on how much any one person gives; it’s on how many people choose to take part. Every gift counts.

What This Means for You as a Future Eagle

If you’re a prospective student or a parent helping your son or daughter make one of the biggest decisions of their life, here’s why Eagle Giving Day matters to you.

It’s a vote of confidence. Alumni don’t keep giving to places that didn’t deliver. When graduates come back year after year to support their team, their department or their ministry program, they’re telling you the investment was worth it. Their experience was real enough, and lasting enough, that they want the next generation to have it too.

It shows the relationships last. The people who give on Eagle Giving Day are often the same people who mentor current students, hire new graduates, speak in classrooms and show up at games and concerts. The community a student joins at Northwestern doesn’t disappear at graduation. It becomes a network of people who are genuinely invested in what comes next.

It directly shapes the student experience. Gifts on Eagle Giving Day fund things students feel every day: scholarships, equipment, travel for teams and ensembles, hands-on learning opportunities and the kinds of experiences that turn a good education into a formative one. When your student arrives on campus, they’ll benefit from the generosity of alumni who walked those same halls.

It’s a picture of the kind of person Northwestern forms. Generosity, gratitude, and a heart to serve others are at the core of a Christ-centered education.

One day, if your student chooses Northwestern, they may be the ones giving back to the team, program or professor that changed their life. That’s the kind of experience worth looking for.

Join Us on October 22

If Northwestern shaped your life, whether through a team, a professor, a ministry, a stage or a group of friends who became family, I hope you’ll join me this Eagle Giving Day. Give to the place that impacted you most and help today’s students experience it too. Learn more and give on Eagle Giving Day!