“I knew it was time to give back and to pay it forward so the next generation of students could go to Hamilton on scholarships and acquire the set of skills that will help them succeed and thrive.”
“I was able to go to Hamilton because I was given a scholarship.” John O’Reilly ’80, who grew up with five siblings in Nassau County, worked summers as a short order cook to cover the balance of his tuition. He had an interest in environmental science and came to Hamilton to major in Biology. “I wanted a job where I could wear jeans and flannel shirts and hike.”
On the Hill, John worked in the athletic department and ran the pub (then in the basement of Commons), and he credits these jobs with introducing him to lifelong friendships, great adventures — even his future career path. “Being the bartender, people would always come down and have a beer with me.” On one such occasion, John was lamenting his entomology lab, and his doubts about his potential as an environmental scientist, when his friend suggested meeting his lab requirement with a childhood development course instead.
“It’s that ability to sit down with people and have conversations and help each other figure things out at Hamilton that got me to where I am.” Through the childhood development class, which involved experiential learning in the on-campus childcare center, John decided to pursue a career in pediatrics, going on to medical school after Hamilton. He is now chief of the general pediatrics division for Baystate Health in Springfield, Massachusetts, and sees patients at the hospital’s clinic in a low-income neighborhood.
Over the years, John gave consistently to the Hamilton Fund, but didn’t see the potential to make a larger contribution. His outlook changed when he received a letter from his class president about their 40th reunion gift, the Class of 1980 Phyllis Breland Scholarship fund. “I knew it was time to give back and to pay it forward so the next generation of students could go to Hamilton on scholarships and acquire the set of skills that will help them succeed and thrive.”
John contacted the Advancement Office to explore his options, and once again it was a conversation with a Hamiltonian that helped him take next steps. John worked with Director of Gift Planning Ben Madonia ’74 to arrange a future contribution from his IRA by naming the Class of 1980 Phyllis Breland Scholarship as the recipient of a portion of his retirement assets on his beneficiary designation form. “I do not have a lot of disposable income to write a big check, but Hamilton made it simple and easy to donate to the College from my retirement funds.”
In the scholarship, John saw the perfect reason to give back; with the IRA, he found the perfect way to make it happen.