CompletionFirst

Jessica Hermann-Wilmarth, new chief development officer for the College of Arts and Sciences, has a goal of building a culture of alumni engagement and support. She seeks to inspire alumni to remember the benefits of the education they received, involve alumni as volunteers and encourage alumni to invest back into the University.

Hermann-Wilmarth, herself an alum after receiving a master’s of public administration from Western Michigan University in 2014, has worked in advancement and fundraising since her undergraduate years, when she enjoyed her student job making phone calls to alumni and annual donors. Prior to joining Western Michigan University staff three years ago as a director of major gifts, Hermann-Wilmarth served as chief development officer for the West Michigan Cancer Center. Her role is new within the College of Arts and Sciences, where she intends to grow a team to oversee fundraising and alumni relations for the college. Its first member, Gina Johnson, began on July 1 as assistant director of leadership giving. Western currently has an endowment of $480 million, which supports student scholarships, programs, research and state-of-the-art learning facilities. These funds augment the work of the college or provide scholarships as prescribed by the donors who set up the endowments.

In early 2020, WMU began a fundraising campaign seeking to raise $1.25 billion; a recent generous donation of $550 million from anonymous donors –the single largest gift to a public higher education institution ever - advanced that cause significantly. The campaign represents a unique opportunity for Hermann-Wilmarth and Johnson to help the College of Arts and Sciences raise additional funds in support of undergraduate and graduate student scholarships, to support faculty and student research and discovery, and to further the mission of the college. Part of that transformation includes increasing the graduation rate. Although WMU still has one of the lower sticker prices of Michigan public universities, many students encounter life circumstances that force them to withdraw from college because they can no longer afford tuition. Gone are the days when it was possible for most students to earn sufficient funds through summer and academic year employment to afford college tuition. Even a situation as seemingly minor as a car breaking down can interfere with a student’s ability to work and attend classes, interrupting their progress toward degree completion. One student who experienced this firsthand is Trevor Woo, a senior biomedical science major from West Bloomfield. “This absolutely saved me during the pandemic,” he said of the completion scholarship.

Only a few weeks from graduation, Woo received the frightening news that his mother was on the way to the hospital with COVID-19. He took leave from his work as a medical scribe; with that job and his mother his only sources of income, he had to become entirely self-sufficient in the midst of a global pandemic.

The scholarship helped not only with his tuition, but also with rent for himself and his brother Frank, who came to live with him while attending medical school online through the University of Miami. Meanwhile, his mother developed acute necrotizing encephalopathy. She slowly declined into a comatose state, not responding to verbal cues, and the week before Woo’s final exams, she entered hospice. Trevor and Frank had been able to FaceTime with her through an iPad, but eventually had a chance to visit her in the hospital. As they pondered whether it was time to say goodbye, she looked at them and asked “why are you crying?” Suddenly she seemed to rally and begin recovering. She recently finished speech therapy, is doing outpatient physical and occupational therapy, and is almost back to her old self.

Woo, now volunteering and shadowing at the Van Buren Cass District Health Department, plans to apply for medical school during the next cycle, and ultimately to become a physician. Walking through this journey with his mother has allowed him to see not only doctors putting their hearts into their work and the passion necessary for success in the field, but also the recovery side – physical, speech, and occupational therapy. “I got a crash course on all of the care processes,” he said.

Completion First:

Scholarship program has lasting impact for students

“When they think about taking a semester or a year off, they often don’t return,” HermannWilmarth said.

Starting college, taking out loans and not graduating can leave students in an even worse place, because they have no degree to help them get a job, Hermann-Wilmarth noted.

“We want to invest financially in students so they can graduate,” she said. “Maybe in 10 years our graduation rate across the board can be in the 90s.” The 6-year graduation rate for students who entered the College of Arts and Sciences in 2011 was just 50.1%.

Enter the Completion Scholarships — modest scholarships (currently $4,000) that bridge the gap for students — making the final semesters of college financially possible or allowing them to remain full-time students. These scholarships are awarded to students who have been successful in college but a financial reality, such as dwindling funds or an emergency, is making the next semester of college an impossibility.

“What we know is just this little bit of financial support can really make a difference for students,” Hermann-Wilmarth said. “That’s the great thing about Western, the advancement office, financial aid, the faculty - everyone cares about students and wants them to succeed.” Eligibility for a Completion Scholarship is determined by financial need and academic standing.

When the College of Arts and Sciences began offering completion scholarships in 2017-18, they awarded 95 scholarships, and 95% of those students have now graduated. The following year they awarded 70 scholarships, and 86% of the cohort have now graduated, with others still on track to complete their degrees. Woo is extremely appreciative to the College of Arts and Sciences for paving a path to his future through the completion scholarship. “It gave me a buffer into the real world and allowed me to graduate,” he said. “I can't thank you guys enough!!”

To support the undergraduate Completion Scholarships funds visit,

wmich.edu/arts-sciences/giving,

Trevor Woo, a senior biomedical science major from West Bloomfield — is extremely appreciative to the College of Arts and Sciences for paving a path to his future through the completion scholarship. “It gave me a buffer into the real world and allowed me to graduate,” he said. “I can't thank you guys enough!!”