“It’s youth in your life,” Marty Weber (’56, JD ’64) reminded the Advancement team of the blessing that a call from a student can be to Gonzaga alumni and friends. Marty was one of four Zags who joined the division during an annual retreat. It’s a time for colleagues to come together in celebration of the previous year’s accomplishments and to look ahead to helping empower what’s next for the University. For 2023, we were joined by (and included in the picture) Marty, Liz Morris (’80), Juanessa Walsh (’06, MBA ’07), and current student and Alumni Relations work-study Erin Dougherty (’25), to hear their individual Gonzaga stories and what continues to ignite their connections to their Alma Mater.
From the 37 direct descendants of the Weber family who’ve attended Gonzaga over the years and the legacy of the late, great Lyle Moore and his Men’s Glee Club, to the lifelong friendships developed on campus in Spokane and across the globe in Florence, along with the habits of giving inspired in each of the panelists, Advancement learned from each story and anecdote shared. Here are a few of their pearls of wisdom, which I hope will inspire you, too.
When we graduate from Gonzaga, we have just so many treasures in our toolbox. It's incumbent upon each of us to give back as alumni. Alumni can give back time, talent and treasure. Start giving early, because then you have a chance to as alumni to have the opportunity to walk around at Gonzaga, interact with these students and get so much back. I was sitting on the quad, and somebody handed me a bulletin. And I sat there on a bench in the sun on a spring day in Spokane after a long winter and watched students pass each other, talking, and laughing. It just lifted my spirits and has stuck with me for days and days and days. People need to understand that it’s our responsibility to give back to the University because we’ve received a lot, but they can also get so much back from it, still.
We have really cool people in our alumni network that are doing such a wonderful variety of things. For example, I went to a movie premiere on the big screen for a Gonzaga alum who didn't even study theater at Gonzaga! You never know where life leads you, and there's always that Gonzaga connection. Hearing someone’s story and what they're up to sometimes sparks things that you didn't even realize were there, but they make you so proud to be connected to that person and to hear about all the cool things Zags do.
I don't think you can at your age understand what it means to an alumnus to get a call from a student, even when they're soliciting money. It gives you an opportunity to connect and ask them what they're studying and how far in their education they are. It's youth in your life. And it's very important that you see them coming along and having the experiences that you had. Sometimes it's simply a thank you for what you've given. Other times it's a request for further giving. But it is a great connection, because once you've been to Gonzaga, you're always bonded together. And trust me, I know. The first few years I was out of college, I couldn’t go to any airport in the United States without running into a Gonzaga grad, and it was such a wonderful thing that somebody had the same identity. You didn't know them, but you could tell by their Zag gear or whatever. It’s just so important.
I think for my generation, it's important to recognize that we have benefited so greatly from generations of Zags who are older than us, who have given so much to make these opportunities possible that we have been able to take advantage of. And if we are thankful for our education, thankful for the ways that we’ve been blessed, we should want to give back to help the younger Zags to be able to have the same opportunities that we have to access—the buildings, the programs—I know I'm certainly thankful for what I've been given.