A Graduation Gift to Last a Lifetime

When Chanelle Munoz graduated from UC San Diego with her bachelor’s degree in Literatures of the World, her family could have gotten her a car as a graduation gift. Instead, they chose something less traditional and more from the heart to recognize their daughter’s accomplishment—a scholarship. Nearly 10 years later, this graduation gift has proved to be a rewarding investment.

“We wanted to create a living legacy that would offer an example for our children,” said Reed and Jennifer Vickerman, Chanelle’s parents. “Through the years they have had the opportunity to meet some of the scholarship recipients and experience the amazing stories of these talented students.”

The Vickermans provided a gift of $30,000 to create the endowed Vickerman/Munoz Family Scholarship. The endowment ensures that the family’s gift will live on in perpetuity by investing the gift. A portion of the earnings is used to award scholarships to generations of future UC San Diego students. In addition, through the Alumni Leadership Scholarship program, the payout from the endowment is matched, doubling the scholarship award that the student receives.

“Establishing a scholarship can be a very creative process,” added Jennifer. “You have the ability to tailor your gift for a specific set of candidates: transfer students, engineering majors, international students, etc.”

The Vickermans tailored their gift to support full-time transfer students who demonstrate leadership in community service, in addition to demonstrating financial need and strong academics. Since establishing the scholarship in 2005, four students have received the Vickerman/Munoz Family Scholarship.

“Without exception, every recipient has been an inspiration,” the family added. “Anytime we get a little down about the state of the world or its future, we need only to look to these and other UC San Diego students to have renewed hope and optimism for the future.”

Today, Chanelle Munoz is in her 6th year of teaching third grade at Maryland Elementary School in Vista, Calif. While their daughter is no longer a student, the Vickermans remain actively involved with the university. Jennifer, a local artist herself, has been involved with the Friends of the Stuart Collection, supporting the university’s renowned collection of site-specific art pieces. Reed has served on the Undergraduate Scholarship Council for the past eight years and is currently the chair. He has also co-chaired the Chancellor’s Challenge 5K Run/Walk for Scholars for the past eight years.

“UC San Diego is making such an impact in our region and the world,” said Jennifer. “We are thrilled to play even a small part in its progress.”

The Vickermans are not the only UC San Diego family to create a scholarship as a graduation gift. The Justin D. Smith Family Scholarship Endowment, one of UC San Diego’s Chancellor’s Scholarships—a four-year award for high merit, high need students—was created by parents Ronald and Diane Smith in 2006 in honor of their son Justin’s graduation. The scholarship recognizes outstanding entering freshman majoring in engineering or the biological or physical sciences.

“As hard as it is to cover the costs of a university education today, the long-term benefits of a scholarship are something that you can share with your family for generations,” said the Vickermans.  “Every time you see a student impacted by your gift it reminds you of how fortunate we were to receive a good education, and how many deserving students need our help.”

A scholarship gift is a lasting bond between your family, the university and generations of future Tritons. To learn more about family legacy giving, please contact Director of Parent and Family Giving Suzanne McClain at sumcclain@ucsd.edu or (858) 822-3867.