Testimonials

To Esteemed Donors:

I was raised by my mother, a single parent who was orphaned at the age of five. My biological father had 36 children. As an immigrant in the United States, my mother worked as a housekeeper while I prepared to enter the university’s alternative admissions program known as STEP/CAP (Summer Transition at Eastern Program/Contract Admissions Program). I had dreams—ambitious dreams—but I lacked the financial means to turn them into reality. The scholarships I received from Eastern Connecticut State University and the ECSU Foundation were truly life-altering. Your generosity forever changed my life and, more importantly, created ripple effects that I hope have changed the lives of others. I am deeply grateful for your support, and to whomever you are, I owe you an eternal debt of gratitude.

I graduated from Eastern and earned a master’s degree in engineering from another university. You should know that, as a result of the degrees I earned, I have worked for a few of the most prestigious firms in the world: Ernst & Young LLP, Deloitte & Touche, and Dell. Now, I serve in public service with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, where I help protect those who cannot protect themselves.

While I have achieved personal success beyond any reasonable expectation, more importantly, I have strived to multiply your generosity by giving myself to others less fortunate. Above all else, even throughout college, I have done my best to mentor, tutor, and support others who needed academic help or assistance wherever I could be useful. Because of my service on and off campus, I was selected as a recipient of the prestigious Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges award. For the past eight years, I have led financial empowerment and career development programs through various affinity groups within my current agency, motivating young people from underprivileged communities. I have spoken at middle schools, high schools, universities, and law schools without compensation.

When you donated to the scholarship I received, you didn’t know me or my story. Every time I speak at an event, I share how we are all benefiting from your donations and your actions. If anyone needed help with their résumé, advice, or mentoring for succeeding in the corporate world, I have always been there to carry on as a small piece of your legacy. Those are ripple effects.

As my brother, the University of Connecticut Engineering Hall of Famer and current Honorable Judge Jean R. Homere of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, would say: “Our good deeds and actions are like waves. They travel throughout the universe to align with other forces and finally come back to us.” Quite often, what can be seen has limits; in what cannot be seen, the possibilities are endless. Sometimes, good deeds don’t return at the reciprocal degree or angle. Just like you, my benefactors, I have not wavered in extending your ripple effects. I hope the universe has been kind to you a hundred thousand times over multiplying the kindness and opportunities you have extended to me and others.

As Bob Marley said, “The bad people trying to make the world worse never take a day off, so why should I?” Let’s keep pushing forward. The ripple effects never cease, and someday, they will finally come back to us.

Sincerely yours,

Walner Homere ‘95