Your Gifts at Work
While many students and parents think of tuition as the true cost of a Spring Hill College education, the reality is that tuition covers only a portion of the full cost to educate a Spring Hill student.
Every year, Spring Hill College supplements tuition for each student with thousands of dollars in additional support. Consistent, annual gifts from alumni, friends and parents make this possible.
Please consider making a gift today. Your support will sustain the mission of Spring Hill College, enabling us to educate men and women in dedicated service to others.
Here are just a few of the great things you have helped us accomplish over the last decade:
- Increase in yearly scholarship assistance for students
- Recruitment of record number of undergraduate and graduate students for the past several years
- Restoration of St. Joseph Chapel
- Renovation of Mobile Hall
- Renovation of Byrne Memorial Hall
- Renovation of Toolen Hall
- Renovation of Rev. Gregory F. Lucey, S.J. Administration Center
- LEED-Certified Student Center
- Fine and Performing Arts Center
- Nan Altmayer Place
- “New” Residence Hall
- The Marnie and John Burke Memorial Library
- Rydex Commons
- The Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center
- The Mitchell Theatre
Other projects we are working on with your help:
- Math and Science Center
- The Jesuit Residence
Thank you for your support of Spring Hill College.
Scholarship Recipient
Katherine Abalos '15
Why did you choose to attend Spring Hill College?
I always wanted to go to a college that would challenge me academically. I wanted to have fun but I did not want to go somewhere that valued fun over learning and training. Spring Hill has a reputation in Mobile for being a great school and many successful people have come out of Spring Hill. Once I began touring Spring Hill, I met really great people and saw how beautiful the campus is, I had an overwhelming sense of home. The cherry on top was when I found out that when my mother was applying for colleges she fell in love with Spring Hill and it was her dream school, but she did not have the resources she needed to go to an out-of-state private college, so she had to settle for a local university. It was that realization that showed me that Spring Hill was where I needed to be.
Are you involved in any community service projects?
I serve breakfast and visit with the residents of The Little Sisters of the Poor every Sunday. I also tutor the ACT to athletes at a local high school who are working to get into their dream colleges.
What are your goals/plans for after you graduate?
I plan on earning my master’s and then my Ph.D. I plan to find a job as a clinical or counseling psychologist.
If you met your scholarship’s donor, what would you say to them?
I would thank you from the bottom of my heart, honestly. Without a doubt, it is their generosity that got me to where I am today. I work hard every day to prove that the blessings I have received because of you are not in vain. And, I fully intend on becoming something great and helping others just as I have been helped.
Katherine Abalos '15
Psychology Major, Philosophy Minor
Beth Burgert '13
Why did you choose to attend Spring Hill College?
I chose to attend Spring Hill College because I felt most at home here in the tight knit community. The beautiful campus, availability of St. Joseph Chapel, and small class size all tied together with a helpful financial package and scholarship offer truly was what swayed me to select Spring Hill.
My interactions with Dr. Chester, Dr. Kohnen, and Dr. Culberson within the class setting is my favorite aspect of my SHC experience. Those professors have given me such great knowledge in the time I've spent at SHC and they have all left impressions lasting impressions on me.
Are you involved in any community service projects?
My involvement with Students for Life, AGA, and chemistry club all include hours of volunteering to educate the local community about social justice issues at the local, national, and global level. I have enjoyed educating the youth of the community in what fun science can be in their lives and futures respectively.
What are your goals/plans for after you graduate?
After graduation I would like to continue my education in a graduate studies program focused in the area of wetland ecology.
If you met your scholarship’s donor, what would you say to them?
Thank you. It is because of your generosity that I am currently able to further my education here at SHC and it is because of your kindness that I will walk away next May, a college graduate with a bright future ahead of me. Without the assistance of your donation towards my scholarship, I would not be able to have come this far.
Beth Burgert '13
Marine and Organismal Biology Major
Casey Adams '13
Why did you choose to attend Spring Hill College?
I chose Spring Hill because of the small class sizes, beautiful campus, and to be part of the baseball team. My favorite aspect of SHC is being part of the baseball team. It allows me to do what I love while earning a great education in the meantime.
Are you involved in any community service projects?
In the fall semester of 2011, I was involved with the ARC program of Mobile. Every Wednesday we would go bowling and spend time with members of the program who are intellectually or developmentally disabled.
What are your goals/plans for after you graduate?
I intend to attend physical therapy school in hopes of one day owning my own physical therapy clinic.
If you met your scholarship’s donor, what would you say to them?
I would like to say that I am greatly appreciative of this scholarship and it takes a great person to do something of this magnitude. This scholarship shows me that there still are great people doing great things in this world even when times are tough.
Casey Adams ’13
Management/Marketing Major
Jeff Johnston '13
Why did you choose to attend Spring Hill College?
The college’s reputation for excellence in academics plus I received an academic scholarship and a baseball scholarship. My favorite part of SHC has been meeting new people and creating new relationships.
Are you involved in any community service projects?
I volunteer as a Unified Sailing partner for the Special Olympics, with ARC Bowling Special Olympics, and at the Boys and Girls Club.
What are your goals/plans for after you graduate?
I would like to attend Law School, pass the bar exam, and enter into a career as an attorney.
If you met your scholarship’s donor, what would you say to them?
I appreciate your generosity in supporting Spring Hill College students and am honored and grateful to be the recipient of your scholarship. A donor's support makes me know that my efforts, both academically and athletically, are not going unnoticed.
Jeff Johnston '13
Finance and Economics Major
Andrea Garces '15
Why did you choose to attend Spring Hill College?
I chose Spring Hill because when I had first arrived to visit, I was welcomed by people I didn't even know. Everyone here smiles and is always nice to people they don't even know. I enjoy that I know a majority if not all the students in my graduating class, I am always seeing familiar faces around campus. Students at Spring Hill don't try to separate each other by their year because everyone here is so friendly. Academically, I enjoy that I don't have to struggle to pay attention in class or try to contact my teachers. The classes are small enough that my concentration isn’t lost. If I'm having a problem understanding material in a class I can go to my teacher after class, or I can go to the CAE and a tutor can help me with it.
Are you involved in any community service projects?
Being part of Delta Delta Delta, our philanthropy is helping St. Jude's, a children's hospital. We host activities and games that help us raise money for St. Jude's. I also help other fraternities raise money for their philanthropies by participating in their activities.
What are your goals/plans for after you graduate?
My plan for after graduation is to go to a graduate school so that I can earn my master’s degree. Hopefully, I will be able to go to NYU because that has always been a dream of mine.
If you met your scholarship’s donor, what would you say to them?
If I were to meet my scholarship's donor, I would tell him or her that I appreciate the scholarship. Their support means a lot to me, it not only helps me financially but it also is a great help for my parents and I greatly appreciate that.
Andrea Garces '15
Business Major, Marketing Minor
Jessica Pouncy '13
Why did you choose to attend Spring Hill College?
I chose Spring Hill College because of the intimate feel of the classes and campus community. I loved the beauty of the campus and the close attention every student receives from their professors.
My favorite aspect would be the Education program at Spring Hill. I still meet many people who are surprised about how much time we spend in actual school classes observing and teaching. I have heard many times that our education program puts us ahead of the game because all the experience Spring Hill allows us to gain.
Are you involved in any community service projects?
I have volunteered for the Spring Hill College Women's Volleyball Team as an official. I have also volunteered at a local elementary school as a Reading Buddy. Most recently, I was a tutor for a kindergarten class at another local elementary school.
What are your goals/plans for after you graduate?
I intend to find a job teaching at an elementary school in Mobile, AL. I will also pursue a master's degree in Elementary Education.
If you met your scholarship’s donor, what would you say to them?
I would say that they were an answer to my prayers. Receiving their support has meant that hard work does pay off. I have been working diligently to keep my grades up for personal purposes, but to have someone support me for what I have already been working towards means the world to me. This has also meant a lot to my parents who have been supporting me through school. I would say that this has been an answer to their prayers as well.
Jessica Pouncy '13
Elementary Education Major
Donor Profile
Jack '61 and Fran Gleeson
As a scholarship student-athlete in the late ’50s and early ’60s, Jack Gleeson ’61 understands the importance of giving. Gleeson and his wife, Fran, are members of the 1830 Society at Spring Hill College. They have chosen to leave a legacy gift to the College in their will.
“It is a progression of giving,” Gleeson said of the planned gift the couple has decided to make to the College. He said they have made various gifts through the years to their high schools and Spring Hill College, but this gift he thought would close the loop. “We have been very fortunate that several good things have happened to us financially and wanted to leave a legacy at each institution that we were part of, and Spring Hill falls into that big time for me.”
An involved alumnus, Gleeson served 10 years on the National Alumni Association Board and 10 years working with the Houston chapter. He was recruited out of high school in his hometown of New York City to play basketball for Spring Hill. He was offered a full scholarship that afforded him the opportunity to go to school during the day with no other concerns.
“The plan was for me to get a job as soon as I graduated high school and attend night school,” he said. “My parents were Irish immigrants and my dad worked in the retail business for R. H. Macy in New York. I had three sisters; we lived in a three-room apartment, and I grew up playing sports in the public school yard or in the street.”
For Gleeson, his full scholarship to Spring Hill College, which he estimated to be about $12,000, felt like the equivalent of a million dollars. He said the culture in the late ’50s was to get a job, go to work, and take care of your family.
“He wouldn’t have had an education without a scholarship, or it would have been difficult finish with so many distractions,” Fran Gleeson said.
The Gleesons understand the reality students are faced with when looking at the costs of education. Spring Hill opened Gleeson’s eyes to a different culture than he was accustomed to and allowed for him to travel all over the Southeast.
“It is hard to describe all the things it has meant to me over the years, looking back some 50 years. When I was here the Jesuits at that time truly looked out for our interests,” he said. “Just being here in this community you learned things; you met people from all over the country.”
The Gleesons have chosen Spring Hill College as one of their priorities for these very reasons. “It is important that students today have the same opportunity I received 50 years ago,” Gleeson said. “These young people today are going to be the future leaders of our country, fight our battles, fight our wars, run businesses and hopefully make the good ole USA as good as it is or even better than it is today.”
Fran Gleeson said, “We always gave something, even when we didn’t have much. The more you give away, the more you get back.”
“Once you become educated on what legacy giving is, it is simple and you realize there is plenty to go around,” Gleeson said. He explained planned giving is something he thought they really should be participating in, “There is annual giving, there is the capital campaign, a current initiative like scholarships, so who is better to be able to support the College than those who are willing to part with their inheritance – I wanted to have my name on that list.”
“If you asked me about this when I was 30, I would have said ‘what will are you talking about?’” Gleeson said. “It is an important step in the process of giving. At a certain point in your life it will dawn on you that ‘I need to do that’ and you close the loop.”
At Spring Hill College you can make your gift with ease. When drafting or making an adjustment to your will, advise your attorney of the percentage or amount you would like to leave the College, or if you would like to designate money for something specific, such as a particular scholarship.
For more information on Planned Giving, contact Rinda Mueller at (251) 380-2285, (877) 777-4455, or rmueller@shc.edu. Visit the Planned Giving Web site for other ways to make a gift to Spring Hill: www.shc.edu/plannedgiving.