From ’60 to ’20, first class scholarship carries legacy
See how Julia Chung ’22 and Ethan Guerra ’20 benefitted from the first-ever class scholarship established at Stevens.
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During 2020, the members of the Class of 1960 have been celebrating their 60th reunion. This year is also the 40th anniversary since they started the first-ever class scholarship at Stevens, a fund now supporting a new generation of talented students.
The Class of 1960 is full of members who have contributed to business, science, society and Stevens. Tom Konen and Don Merino taught and researched on campus. Dave Hill chaired the computer science department at the University of Vermont. Frank Fernandez directed DARPA. Richard Reeves was a famed historian and author. Joe Kaminski received honors at the 2015 Stevens Awards Gala. John Dalton has been a leading voice in the Stevens Alumni Association. The class legacy includes helping to produce two documentary films, Tales from Castle Stevens and Stevens and Sons: America’s First Family of Engineers.
John Dalton recalls the days when his class first came to Stevens, during the relative peace and prosperity of the mid-1950s. These were also the famous days of “look to your left, look to your right,” when the president would warn all the freshmen at convocation that Stevens was so tough, the person sitting next them would probably fail out.
Both John and his twin brother Ed were able to enroll because of scholarships from General Motors.
“We were the first in Mom’s family to attend college,” John said. “Absent that assistance, two working class kids from Jersey City would not have been able to pursue the American dream.”
John recalls that many of his classmates were also the first in their families to attend college. By his best guess now, maybe a fifth of his classmates received a scholarship, with the caveat that there were fewer scholarships established back then. Though tuition costs were also cheaper, many students still had to pay much of their own way.
Those who graduated went on to start careers and families. When the classmates prepared to celebrate their 20th reunion in 1980, they agreed with an idea that Ed Dalton and Don Merino developed to endow a scholarship to help the next generation of students. They also wanted to honor classmates they had lost, including one who perished in an industrial accident and another in Vietnam.
The classmates set out with a goal: $60,000 from ’60. However, no Stevens class had ever started a scholarship before. There was no blueprint for the 1960 graduates to follow.
“That didn’t stop us,” John said. “Our class was relatively fearless.”
Like sharp Stevens grads, the Class of 1960 wrote their own blueprint. In the days before email appeals and online philanthropy, the class raised money by encouraging each other over dinners, mailing letters, and calling from campus phones during pledge telethons.
Classmate Joe Marino, who had become a c-suite executive of a manufacturing company, cleared the $60,000 goal with a large gift of stocks. Many more members of the class contributed, including those who could use matching-gift benefits from their employers.
The endowed fund has grown over time, and the Class of 1960 scholarship has benefitted students for decades. Following that blueprint, some 65 other classes have also established funds.
During the 2019-20 academic year, Julia Chung ’22 and Ethan Guerra ’20 received support from the Class of 1960 scholarship. With the “look to your left” days long passed, and the university’s retention and graduation rates at record highs, Julian and Ethan are two more Stevens students who are poised for success.
Ethan majored in chemical engineering and is on his way to becoming a nuclear engineer for the United States Navy. He is a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
“Chemical engineering is a tough major, and it would be easy to get overwhelmed,” Ethan said. “It’s been incredibly helpful to not have financial concerns while focusing on my schoolwork and campus involvement. The contribution from the Class of 1960 to my education is extremely considerate, and I hope that I will be able to give back to Stevens and make an impact on a student as they have done for me.”
Julia is the daughter of two immigrants who did not attend college. She is majoring in computer engineering and is a member of the Korean Students Association. She appreciates learning applications beyond the classroom.
“My engineering design classes have justified why I chose to attend Stevens,” Julia said. “The emphasis here on real-world application allows students to grasp their career path. I want to pursue a career that will allow me to embrace my extroverted personality and not sit in front of a desk all day. Living in an ever-growing technological world, I want to utilize my skills and improve technology so it is more user-friendly.”
As Ethan and Julia look ahead to their futures, the members of the Class of 1960 can spend their 60th reunion reflecting on the success of their lives and on the enduring bonds they have made with each other. The scholarship they started to honor their lost friends has become more resonant over the years. Many have passed as nature takes course, including Dave Hill, Tom Konen and John’s beloved brother Ed. In March, the class lost Richard Reeves, whose obituary spanned 23 paragraphs in The New York Times.
And yet, the Class of 1960 still looks ahead. They are planning another combined gift to bolster their endowed scholarship fund, just as they have done for every milestone reunion since 1980.
“Forty years ago,” John Dalton said, “we endowed a scholarship to benefit future generations of Stevens students who will make a positive difference in the world. We’re proud of that. It’s a good feeling.”