{"id":3089,"date":"2013-09-24T15:31:36","date_gmt":"2013-09-24T15:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/?p=3089"},"modified":"2013-09-25T21:26:05","modified_gmt":"2013-09-25T21:26:05","slug":"presidents-reception-focuses-on-gratitude-by-celebrating-top-donors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2013\/09\/24\/presidents-reception-focuses-on-gratitude-by-celebrating-top-donors\/","title":{"rendered":"President\u2019s Reception Focuses on Gratitude by Celebrating Top Donors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gratitude, appreciation and thanks. Those are the values that filled every individual\u2019s heart in attendance at the President\u2019s Reception, held on September 20 in The Duncan Family Sky Room at the Mac Mahon Student Center. The words of alumnus Bob Luchetti \u201955 portrayed this sentiment best: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have gotten the job I had without Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s. I grew up in an impoverished family and was the first to attend college. I had to work my way through school, then come to Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s and hitchhike my way home.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

He added, \u201cMy donation is a part of something big. I was able to break through poverty and attend school, and therefore break the cycle. While I was the first one to go to college, I wasn\u2019t the last. We broke through.\u201d<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s Reception is an annual celebration where Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University, shows his gratitude and personally thanks members of the President\u2019s Council, a core group of Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s alumni and friends who have demonstrated an admirable dedication and unmatched kindness to the University\u2019s mission and students by generously making an investment of $1,000 or more annually. As alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students came together, Dr. Cornacchia delivered an address that updated those in attendance about the University\u2019s monumental milestones from the past year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the days leading up to this event, someone approached me to let me know that they would be attending \u2018MY\u2019 reception on Friday night. As I thought about this remark, it struck me that while it may be titled the President\u2019s Reception, this evening has very little to do with me. This evening is about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIt\u2019s because of you, our donors, that we are in this building tonight. And it\u2019s because of you, our donors, that we have been able to embark on new and exciting academic terrain, such as our master\u2019s in strategic communication, master\u2019s in public administration and others that you\u2019ll be hearing about in coming months. And it\u2019s because of you, our donors, that later in the program, you will meet but one of our countless bright young minds who has both a vision for, and promise of, a successful future.\u00a0 Your gifts to our scholarship program secure this future for her and her classmates.\u201d<\/p>\n

The student Dr. Cornacchia spoke of was Elizabeth Callahan \u201914, a nursing major and Pavo Society member. Despite any obstacle, Callahan never lost her faith. Instead, she vowed to help others and do more for God.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Magis<\/i>, we are taught at Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s that the more you do for others, the more you do for God,\u201d she said. \u201cMagis<\/i> has been my driving force. I\u2019ve made it my obligation to be an ambassador for Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s where ever I go. One thing I learned at the University is that all things are possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her time at Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s, Callahan has learned and lived out many Jesuit principles, such as St. Ignatius\u2019 belief in the importance of man showing gratitude for all the gifts God blessed his children with here on Earth. Guest speaker Rev. James Martin, S.J., award-winning author and contributing editor of America<\/i> magazine, echoed these sentiments during his address.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is gratitude important?\u201d asked Fr. Martin. \u201cSt. Ignatius called ingratitude \u2018the most abominable of sins\u2026for it is a forgetting of the graces, blessings, and benefits received. As such, it is the cause, beginning and origin of all sins and misfortunes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIn gratitude leads us to the blindness of God\u2019s presence in our lives. We tend to go right to our problems. Why? Because we are problem solvers. That\u2019s an aspect of our prehistoric mind. Our mind goes to the negative. Yet Ignatius says to recall what we are grateful for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fr. Martin asked all in attendance to participate in a spiritual prayer, a moment of reflection where one recalls one thing that they are grateful for in the moment. \u201cThink about it, savor it and tell God \u2018thank you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Fr. Martin concluded by saying, \u201cNo matter how many disasters, God is in everyone\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In closing the evening, Dr. Cornacchia thanked supporters for their continued generosity and belief in Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s special brand of Jesuit education, which ensures that \u201cTradition and Progress\u201d continues, and helps to create new possibilities for current and future generations of students.<\/p>\n

Patrick Cassidy \u201961 summed the evening up perfectly when he said, \u201cI give back because it\u2019s alma mater<\/i>. I received a scholarship to come here, so I feel the need to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n

To view more photos from the event, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t