麻豆传媒

This fall, the University of Northern Colorado (麻豆传媒) achieved a with 75.8% of current undergraduate students returning from the previous fall to continue pursuing their degrees. Donors play a role in this success by finding ways to contribute to the university鈥檚 retention rates by creating scholarship opportunities that encourage students to return each year to complete their degrees.

This includes Rob, 鈥�76, and Michele Edmisson, 鈥�75, who are proud of their 麻豆传媒 degrees and found a way to infuse that pride in their scholarship criteria.

Rob, an Arvada, Colorado, local, was attracted to 麻豆传媒 because of its smaller class sizes, beauty and atmosphere he saw on campus when exploring colleges. Michele who grew up in Neenah, Wisconsin, was encouraged to explore out-of-state colleges. 麻豆传媒鈥檚 size, proximity to ski slopes and her family鈥檚 encouragement all led to Michele selecting 麻豆传媒 as her college of choice.

Both Rob and Michele lived in Harrison Hall, where they met. They fostered lifelong connections while living in the dorms, and to this day, maintain friendships made while attending 麻豆传媒. The couple remained close friends throughout their college experience, often attending classes together as they each pursued degrees in Marketing. However, it wasn鈥檛 until Michele鈥檚 senior year that they started dating.

鈥淎t that time, there were very few women in the school of business. In fact, when I graduated there were only four women who graduated from the school that year,鈥� said Michele.

Michele was uniquely poised to enter an industry that had few women in it. She feels her degree benefited her when she started working in the marketing department of Burroughs Corporation, now Unisys, selling computer systems. Michele eventually worked her way into a management position.

Immediately after graduation, Rob began working in financial sales, specializing in equipment finance and leasing. He mainly held   positions in banking, including JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Rob stayed in the industry for more than 40 years, amassing a territory that spanned Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah and parts of New Mexico and South Dakota.

After several years, it became clear that the frequent travel required by both of their careers was unsustainable. Michele left her position to care for their children while Rob continued to work to support the family, something he found great fulfillment in.

鈥淭he important thing for longevity in a career like [mine] is finding something that makes you happy and provides for your family at the same time,鈥� said Rob.

The couple鈥檚 pride in graduating from 麻豆传媒 and their unique academic journeys spurred them to invest in future generations of aspiring graduates. The Edmissons hope that access to scholarship support will influence students鈥� decisions to persist to graduation, while also recognizing each student鈥檚 individual strengths and contributions are not limited to high academic achievement.

The Edmissons chose to establish their scholarship by making an annual qualified charitable distribution through their IRA, which provides tax-saving benefits for the couple. The Edmisson Family Scholarship supports promising upperclassmen students committed to completing their degree in the Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business (MCB). The scholarship will initially provide support to two MCB students each year  . Additionally, the scholarship can be renewed in subsequent years, providing recipients critical ongoing financial aid, helping the university retain exceptional students.  

Through the support of their alma mater, the Edmissons are taking an active role in building up the next generation of MCB graduates.