Building bright futures

Amber Bormann ’23 and Myles Boateng ’22

Building bright futures

Education opens doors to new possibilities and empowers students to find meaning, success and fulfillment. SMU Ignited donors support a wide range of undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships that enable students to access a world-class education in the global city of Dallas.

Supporting outstanding undergraduates

Many examples of how giving impacts the lives of undergraduate students can be found in programs enhanced by the Opportunity SMU Fund. Donors to this fund expand scholarships, financial aid and student support initiatives that help the University attract, retain and graduate meritorious undergraduate students.

Investing in the future of graduate education

Donors who invest in our graduate students within the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies expand their learning opportunities and fuel research that can impact individuals and communities far beyond our campus. For instance, education student Cheyenne Phillips ’26 focuses on ways to make K-12 education more inclusive for families from underrepresented backgrounds. Anthropology student Erik Schlicht is enhancing our understanding of historic wildfires in ways that can contribute to modern fire management.

Innovating from the heart

Inspired by his late grandmother’s fight with Parkinson’s disease, Raleigh Dewan ’23 searched for a way to help those with the condition to regain a sense of independence and dignity. In particular, he thought about mealtime, which for his family centered around his grandmother’s extravagant and delicious Southern dishes. With help from programs supported by donors to the Opportunity SMU Fund, Dewan, fellow Mustang Mason Morland ’24 and Johns Hopkins student Emily Javedan started a medical-tech startup named for its core product, the SteadiSpoonTM.

SteadiSpoon

Shaping tomorrow’s leaders

Other innovative and industrious students who found their home in academic communities on the Hilltop thanks to the generosity of our community include scholarship recipients like:

  • Amber Bormann ’23, who was able to pursue her musical passions while earning degrees in marketing and advertising.
  • Myles Boateng ’22, who became the first in his family to graduate from college. After earning a psychology degree from SMU, he returned to pursue a master’s degree in counseling.
  • Sofia Goff ’24, who pursued degrees in economics and public policy while holding competitive internships at a prestigious immigration law firm and with the George W. Bush Presidential Center at SMU.
  • Rachel Mannon ’24, who has become a leader in the Rotunda Scholars program that mentored her as a first-year student, while earning degrees in electrical engineering and German.
Amber Bormann ’23 and Myles Boateng ’22

The gift of education is never returned, always appreciated and often passed on to the next generation. It can open doors, change lives and enrich our world.

Robert H. Dedman, Jr. ’80, ’84, SMU Ignited Campaign Leadership Council Co-Chair

Make a difference

Find out how your gift can spark the biggest impact in the lives of our students and the future they are building in the classroom, on the field and in communities around the world.

Ways to give

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