When approached by a Colgate Advancement officer about a Reunion gift, Martha Rose, Class of 2007, generously offered to establish a scholarship in her family’s name and join the Women’s Leadership Council. Helping to increase access to undergraduate education, the “first place you think about being an adult,” fit well with Rose’s education-focused philanthropic priorities.
Rose and her husband, Alexander Lovell, UCLA Class of 2010, have had an ongoing interest in breaking down barriers to university entry, helping students and their families overcome “threshold challenges.” Increasing access to Colgate via this scholarship is of particular interest, she noted, as both the scholarship recipient and the university benefit when a qualified student who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend our alma mater is able to do so.
A biology and international relations major, Rose credits Colgate with enabling her to pursue these seemingly disparate passions. At other schools she considered, this combination was not feasible. Colgate offers “such an amazing breadth of access to so many things”, she added. And the “context switching” demanded by these majors has served Rose well in her legal education at Columbia Law School and in her position as General Counsel of Sequoia Heritage, a West Coast investment services firm.
Living in San Francisco with her young family, Rose has had few opportunities to visit campus these past few years. But she fondly recalls the “amazing community” she discovered at Colgate and the “amazing memories” she made during her time in Hamilton. Rose is always happy to meet fellow alumni, and she’s especially looking forward to meeting more Women’s Leadership Council members and being part of our philanthropic community.