Laura Mahony is the current First Lady and she has used her position to create an alumni group on campus focused on bringing scholarship and financial aid to students who may not be able to finish their degrees.
The Winthrop Women’s Coalition started with Winthrop alumni who had been supporting the university and Mahony said they approached her and the group formed “organically.” She said that they researched philanthropy groups at other universities and had never seen any like the coalition before.
“There’s never been one that focuses on the personal development component as well as a grass roots and networking component to it. It’s something very, very new and something that fits very well into Dan’s plan, because he wants programs that are going to be national models and we think that this will be a national model and people will start to copy it,” Mahony said.
Mahony said that the group’s focus is on implementing ideas on Winthrop’s campus and within the student body to create a better environment for the entire community. She said it’s more than just the coalition and that the work reaches everyone in the community.
“When all these women get together you can just feel it. Every event that we’ve had has just been a really great one and better than the last and everyone comes away from it feeling almost excitable and high,” Mahony said.
The coalition puts on cultural and professional development events throughout the year and the next event will be on Nov. 15. The event will be focused on ‘Challenges in the 21st Century Education’ and it will be a cultural event.
“The women who are a part of the group come to these events and they have an opportunity for networking at these events. It’s cool, because there are women from all different areas; marketing, PR, education, we all get to come together and network and have this opportunity for professional development and enrichment” Mahony said.
Mahony described the requirements for the group’s members and said that they are continuously looking to grow, however, the philanthropy group does not include undergraduates and its members consist mostly of staff and alumni.
“We are hoping that once we get bigger we may pull in some students, but since we’re still in our infancy it’s mostly for people who have graduated, whether you’re an alumni or just a friend of the university or faculty” Mahony said.
She also explained how the group hopes to grow in the future and bring in more members while continuing with their events and scholarship programs for students.
“We want the group to reach out and get more members. We want the group to embrace the faculty and staff who have expressed an interest. So, we’re offering a faculty/staff rate as well. Basically pulling more people in and pulling people in who want to contribute to Winthrop and help with scholarships and help the group to grow and help the university grow,” Mahony said.
“I think that one of the issues we need to talk about is that so many students now are working multiple jobs and getting an education. I think that is one of the big challenges and I think that is a real issue for not just education majors, but for anybody” Mahony said.
Mahony shared her thoughts on being First Lady as well as working with the coalition and what she feels are her biggest duties and roles in these positions. She said that it is very important to focus on bringing in partners to the university to help with yearly costs.
“The original way we did it was through fundraising and that is the biggest role of being partnered with the president is to help with fellowship, connecting with people and fundraising. We have to be the advocate for the needs of the school,” Mahony said.
She also commended the university and Winthrop community for their willingness to help students and fellow faculty or staff members. She said that keeping the five year strategic plan implemented by Daniel Mahony will help the university continue to progress and grow into the future.
“I have never seen a place where everybody is so engaged in helping students and that’s what we’re here for and I’ve not seen faculty who are so passionate. Alumni, whenever we tag an alumni they’re like ‘I’m in, I wanna help’ or they want to be engaged” Mahony said.
