To Give and To Get

As the mother of triplets who attend three different universities, Linda Peters P’21 has a rare vantage point to observe the unique, individualized nature of the Lasell educational experience.

Her son Conner ’21, a sport management major and coaching minor, has flourished both in and out of the classroom in his three-plus years at Lasell. He has excelled in his coursework while also serving as manager of the men’s basketball team; working at the campus radio station, WLAS; and completing an internship with Director of Athletics Kristy Walter. Conner’s physical disability — he has a mild case of cerebral palsy that affects his gait and motor skills — has not prevented him from being a full participant in campus life.

“The entire Lasell community has been so supportive of Conner and has treated him with so much respect, never making him feel different because of his disability,” Peters says. “Lasell has become his home away from home.”

Peters generously supports the University, having made her first gift weeks after Conner arrived on campus and continuing to provide financial assistance ever since. She is also active with Lasell’s Parents Council and is serving as co-chair this year.

For Peters, gifts to Lasell represent a way to not only express gratitude for her son’s experience, but also to invest in an institution that embraces her family’s values.

“My children and I are all advocates for diversity and equal opportunity,” says Peters, a first-generation college student from tiny Underwood, Minnesota (population: 341). “Lasell represents our values — diversity, small classes, a nurturing environment, and professors who get to know students as human beings rather than just as numbers.”

As a former business executive and now a member of the faculty at UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, she understands the challenges — financial and logistical — that Lasell faces in shifting from in-person to remote teaching.

“The faculty have done an amazing job adapting to the online learning environment while maintaining that personal Lasell touch,” she says. “It’s indicative of Lasell’s commitment to the students.”

For more information about supporting Lasell, visit www.lasellalumni.org.