By Kristin Bryant '97, Legacy Club and Former Board of Trustees Member
Jesuit High School was essential in shaping me into the person I am today. It helped form my values and worldview, provided opportunities for me to explore, challenged me to grow, encouraged me to learn, celebrated my successes, and surrounded me with community. However, it's only now, nearly 20 years after graduation, that I'm really beginning to appreciate the depth of Jesuit's impact and what an amazing and unique high school experience it was.
This appreciation for all that Jesuit has given me has led me to give back financially. Starting soon after graduation I began making small regular annual gifts. These gifts give me a chance to express my gratitude and help ensure that future Jesuit students could have the same experience that I had.
I have also decided to include a donation to Jesuit in my will. This may cause a moment's pause. While I don't think my feelings about Jesuit High School are unique among alumni, becoming a Legacy Club member at a young age is decidedly more rare. But I don't think it should be. Admittedly, my Estate Planning class in law school may have made me start thinking about my own will a earlier than most, but I know that many young alumni are reaching the life stage of writing their own first wills as they start their families. The Legacy Club isn't just for our parents or older alumni...this is the perfect time for all alumni to think about giving back to Jesuit.
I'm sure many young alumni face the same pressures I do in considering my annual gifts to Jesuit—my experience meant so much to me, and I'd love to be able to reflect this in the size of my gift. But then reality intrudes: a nonprofit career, a mortgage, property taxes, the electric bill, saving for retirement...and so the list gets bigger and my annual gift gets smaller than my heart might like. In writing my will, however, I can plan without these constraints, allocating my assets to reflect my values.
I was fortunate to find my way to Jesuit as a freshman, and I'm fortunate that the school is still a part of my life today. I hope that through my contributions, both now and through my estate, many other students will have the opportunity to say the same thing.