Recently established scholarships are changing the conversation—and culture—around gift-giving at La Salle University.

It takes a village, as the saying goes. That is especially true when it comes to strengthening institutional sustainability and supporting student outcomes through gifts to La Salle University.

Whether large or small, the impact can be significant.

“All gifts, no matter the size, are important,” said Trey Ulrich, ’99, MBA ’02, senior director for alumni engagement and annual giving. “More than 90 percent of our students receive financial aid. A gift to the University demonstrates your loyalty and commitment to giving back to the institution that has helped you lead a rewarding life.”

Here are a handful of alumni and friends of La Salle who recently established scholarships that are strengthening the culture of philanthropy at the University:

Nursing scholarship aspires to ‘make all the difference’
Well into a career as an administrative assistant, the late Kathleen Gable, B.S. ’90, MSN ’94, chose to continue her education at age 38 and pursue her dream of becoming a nurse.

Kathleen Gable, B.S. ’90, MSN ’94, at a La Salle basketball game.

After starting at Community College of Philadelphia in 1984, the Northeast Philadelphia native graduated from La Salle in 1990 with an undergraduate nursing degree. She would eventually earn her master’s in nursing from the University in 1994—a degree she pursued while working as a nurse at Philadelphia’s former Graduate Hospital, which closed in 2007.

Gable, who passed in 2020, realized her dream thanks to the education she received at La Salle’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences, where she also served as an adjunct professor from 2003 until her retirement in 2017. Just last year, her family established the Kathleen T. Gable Memorial Scholarship to help nursing majors at an institution that meant so much to the scholarship’s namesake.

“My mother loved everything about La Salle,” said her son John Gable, ’91. “She would be beyond ecstatic to know a scholarship in her memory is helping nursing students.”

John Gable hopes the scholarship—which awards $2,500 to a full-time undergraduate nursing student with financial need and strong academic credentials in their sophomore, junior or senior year of study—inspires others to give back.

“At the time we started it, we thought, ‘This isn’t a lot. It’s not one of those six-figure donations,’” said Gable. “But maybe someone on the fence about making a gift sees it and it makes them think, ‘I can do this.’ And if someone comes up with $5,000, that can be a $1,000 scholarship for a student for five years or it can help five students. It can make all the difference.”

Improving STEM accessibility for Black students.
Angela V. Harris, M.S. ’08, has a message for companies that attribute their lack of diversity in tech positions to a dearth of available Black talent. “There is Black tech talent available,” said Harris, a senior project marketing manager with Microsoft. “I have a pipeline of talent. We are ready, and they’re available.”

Angela V. Harris, M.S. ’08

Harris earned a Master of Science in information technology leadership from La Salle in 2008. Earlier this year, she introduced the Angela W. Harris Scholarship to increase accessibility to STEM education for Black students at La Salle and encourage the acquisition of applicable skills for careers in technology. The $5,000 scholarship is available to undergraduate- or graduate-level La Salle students who demonstrate financial need.

With more than 20 years of experience in information technology, Harris, a first-generation student, is familiar with the challenges encountered by Black tech hopefuls. With her scholarship, Harris wants to provide financial assistance and hope for students who aren’t used to seeing their own identity reflected in their area of study.

“When I was in college, I didn’t have mentors,” said Harris. “In my very first co-op position, I was the first African-American woman to work in the company’s network operations center. In my very first job, I was “the only.’ In my classes, I was ‘the only.’ Coming from not having much, I wanted to give back and make someone else’s journey a little bit easier so they didn’t have to experience some of the things that I’ve experienced on my journey.”

An investment in nursing inclusivity
Committed to making change, creating workplace diversity, and improving accessibility to education, a 2006 La Salle University graduate who has requested anonymity established a scholarship at his alma mater to financially support a nursing student of color and address the lack of diversity in the nursing profession.

Gaye Riddick-Burden, ’99, MSN ’01

The anonymous benefactor’s gift spurred the creation of the Gaye Riddick-Burden Scholarship for Undergraduate Nursing, which awards a $2,000 scholarship to a second-year undergraduate nursing student of color. The scholarship will follow the student through the remainder of their undergraduate education at La Salle.

“As a professional in this field for many years, I am keenly aware of the lack of diversity in nursing and wanted to play a small part in helping to support a student get through La Salle’s rigorous program and graduate into a career in this rewarding field,” said the benefactor. “It’s my hope that this investment may be used to engage other La Salle alumni to support this scholarship, as well as others—and the university, as a whole.”

The scholarship is named for Gaye Riddick-Burden, ’99, MSN ’01, a certified registered nurse practitioner at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing from La Salle. The anonymous benefactor said he enlisted the help of La Salle University’s Office of Advancement in identifying “a well-regarded and successful graduate of color from La Salle’s nursing program” for whom the scholarship should be named.

“The support I received at La Salle, from faculty and staff who cared deeply about my development, was nothing short of tremendous,” Riddick-Burden said. “I am flattered and humbled that this scholarship is named for me. It’s also a blessing for a La Salle nursing student of color to receive this financial support and help on their path toward a life-changing degree and impactful career.”

A ‘want to give back’ to La Salle and accounting students
John Wodarczyk, CPA, ’91, said he grew up “as poor as could be” in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. That never prevented him from achieving academically or professionally, he said.

Scraping together funds through loans and financial aid, while also holding down employment, Wodarczyk put himself through La Salle University. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance, which he said positioned him for professional success. His career has taken him from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Big 4 accounting firm KPMG, to Teva Pharmaceuticals and now to his consulting firm, PharmaForward LLC.

John Wodarczyk, CPA, ’91

With his Pay-it-Forward with PharmaForward Scholarship, Wodarczyk hopes to inspire and develop a new generation of leaders who will follow his philanthropic lead. The scholarship, beginning in Fall 2022, will award $5,000 per year to an accounting student over four years, provide ongoing mentorship and assist with future employment, if possible. “Although the program aids the student financially, what I found to be the largest struggle as a young person trying to make it in the world was the lack of contacts and guidance that typically those who come from means attain from their friends and family group. This is the crux in the program,” said Wodarczyk.

“I’m hoping this program develops strong-minded, independent future leaders who are going to give back,” said Wodarczyk.

Developing future leaders isn’t Wodarczyk’s only goal with the scholarship. He wants to pay it forward on behalf of his alma mater. “La Salle made me who I am,” said Wodarczyk. “I want to give back. I see this as a program that could build into something much bigger for the University and the students it will help.”

Marianne Spiotta, Ed.D., M.A. ’09 (right) and her mother, Susan Webster Nee (left).

Helping education majors, ‘I know she would be proud’
Marianne Spiotta, Ed.D., M.A. ’09, is a La Salle graduate. Her mother, Susan Webster Nee, is not. But Spiotta has chosen to honor her mother with a memorial scholarship at La Salle because of what the University represents to her.

“La Salle opened up a world of possibilities to me,” said Spiotta, a special education teacher in the Central Bucks School District in Bucks County, Pa. “My master’s degree has been so important to me and I attribute that to La Salle. That’s why I wanted to give back.”

The Susan Webster Nee Scholarship awards $6,250 to education students in their junior and senior years—a time when many education majors are unable to keep full- or part-time work as they are attaining practical experience through student-teaching. Spiotta said her mother, who earned degrees in Spanish education and medical technology, would be thrilled that a scholarship in her name was helping education students overcome that obstacle.

“Education means a great deal to everyone in my family,” said Spiotta. “Knowing that money is going to help education students at La Salle complete their degrees, in memory of my mother, makes me so proud. I know she would be proud, too.”

—Patrick Berkery