Memorable Moments and a Big Impact

Everyday moments on the University of Dayton campus, many with her college roommates, have stuck with Donna Valponi Brookhart ’76. She thinks back to dinner at Marycrest and Sunday morning Masses together. Decades later, they’re still making memories.

“We’re scattered around the country, but we get together every other year,” she says. “It’s been a stability in my life, having such long-lasting friendships.”

Donna treasures these friends and the values that took hold for all of them at UD. “I think of the elements of service they instilled in us, the value of a faith-based life. That tradition is important.”

After retiring as senior vice president of marketing at the second largest medical association in the country, Donna and her husband, John, are poised to pass on these traditions with an estate gift that will provide scholarship support to tomorrow’s educators, her original career path.

“I was a bilingual teacher and loved it,” she says. “However, funds for bilingual education evaporated, and I moved on to corporate America. I never regretted leaving teaching, but I still think it’s the most important thing you can offer kids, especially inner-city ones.”

Donna and John chose to leave a percentage of their estate because of the flexibility, ensuring financial security in their latter years. In addition, her faith in UD is rock solid, just like her college friendships, adding to her comfort in their bequest. “I feel very good about the strength and longevity of the University,” she says.