EMBA students fund full-time student scholarship

When many students imagine their legacy as a class, typically their thoughts are straightforward: Give to the class fund, work hard, improve the program, be remembered in a positive light.

But EMP 100, the centennial cohort of the Executive MBA Program, wanted to ensure its legacy is much more impactful and long lasting.

The EMP 100 Century Scholarship Fund is a new scholarship that will be offered in Fall 2016 to a full-time Kellogg student. EMP 100, the Evanston-based class of 2016, launched the fund.

The EMP 100 Social Service Committee first came up with the idea to make a charitable donation in the name of their cohort, but it took them a while to determine what would be the best use of their funds.

“We were struggling with how best to impact the world around us,” said Matthew Taylor, EMP 100. “We realized that endowing a scholarship to a Full-Time program student would be the best way to sustainably give back to the community.”

To Taylor and the rest of the EMP 100 cohort, supporting a high-impact student through their Kellogg education would mean opening up opportunities not just for an individual, but for all the people they touch in their future enterprises.

The merit-based scholarship will give $10,000 a year to one eligible student for each of the next 10 years. To raise funds by Fall 2016, the EMP 100 Social Impact Committee has organized several fundraisers, including a fundraiser night that featured the band of fellow EMP 100 student Vinny Moloney. In the first week since launch, the EMP Century Scholarship Fund already has $15,000 in commitments.

“There are so many causes people are passionate about, but what we have seen firsthand is that education is the best enabler,” said Aaron Young, EMP 100 and a member of the Social Service Committee. “Access to a Kellogg education is going to help these students with the network and skills they need to do good in the world — and we’re all thrilled to be a part of that!”