Harper College gala supports scholarships
A dinner-and-dancing gala to generate financial support for Harper College student scholarships and programs will be Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center.
The President’s Ball, hosted by Harper’s Educational Foundation, will feature live music, remarks from Harper President Dr. Kenneth Ender and an address from student Elisa Galvan, recipient of one of the college’s most prestigious scholarships.
Galvan, a future teacher, says winning the Motorola Solutions Foundation Award for Excellence helped fund her classes and empowered her to study education.
“If someone is able to provide a scholarship, you can be sure that student is going to then impact the lives of many people,” Galvan says.
“I think it’s partially a building of a community: understanding that your involvement touches someone else and that they will be able to touch others.”
Harper Professor Jeff Przybylo, who coaches the college’s acclaimed Speech and Debate Team, will emcee the evening, which also will serve as the introductory event for newly appointed Chief Advancement Officer Dr. Mary Knight.
Tickets are $400. Tickets for a raffle, which boasts a $2,500 grand prize, are available separately for $50 or three for $100.
Since its inception in 1973, Harper’s Educational Foundation has supported the college, its students and its faculty and staff through scholarships, programs and other contributions. More than 300 Harper students were awarded scholarships through the Foundation last year.
“State funding for community colleges has decreased, but our students’ need for financial assistance and innovative educational programming is not going away,” says Lane Moyer, immediate past president of the Harper College Foundation Board of Directors.
“Events like this one are increasingly important as we look for opportunities to champion our students and, as a community, help them succeed.”
Moyer, a partner at the Chicago law firm of Vedder Price P.C., is co-chairing the gala planning committee alongside foundation board member Derrick Hamilton, vice president of U-Verse Field Operations-Midwest for AT&T.
The President’s Ball will begin with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception at the Renaissance, 1551 Thoreau Drive North in Schaumburg. Dinner and dancing will follow.
To RSVP to the event, purchase raffle tickets or make a stand-alone donation in support of student scholarships, call (847) 925.6490 or visit www.harpercollege.edu/giving.