Alpha Beta Giving Circle 2023
A reminder that the Giving Circle deadline for donations and undergraduate Beta grant funding applications is Friday, March 31. The Giving Circle has been successful in directing its grant dollars directly to young undergraduate Betas as they explore research, internships, travel and a range of opportunities that will help define their careers and lives. We invite you to join the Alpha Beta Giving Circle and help support the current generation of Betas. Information on how to be part of this unique grant program is below.
Since its inception in 2020, the Giving Circle has funded 7 grants to deserving Beta undergraduates totaling $26,000. In its two years of existence, the Giving Circle has received undergraduate funding applications for projects like advanced biophotonics scientific research, orthopedic clinical research at the UC Medical Center, internships with Wall Street, Stryker, Soleris, Northrup, Deloitte, Tesla, Mettler, Amazon and a US Navy contractor, travel overseas to study in Spain, Panama, London, Luxemburg, Honduras, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The Giving Circle program has received 37 applications requesting over $150,000 of financial support for extraordinary off-campus projects.
We’ve included descriptions of the projects funded by the Giving Circle and how the grants have affected the lives of the undergraduates. Some of these Betas will soon leave Miami and move on to graduate school or their careers. All agree that the Giving Circle had a significant impact on their lives.
- Thomas (Tommy) Finn, Class of 2023, is a double major in Biological Physics and Biochemistry. Brother Finn’s $4,500 grant in 2021 provided housing and food as he spent most of his summer working as a volunteer in a Miami University research laboratory. As a result of his work, Brother Finn was invited to give a presentation to Miami students and faculty entitled “Unanticipated Metabolic Interactions within Cells Detected Using UV-Excited Autofluorescence”, and, along with the research team presented the work at the 2022 Biophysical Society Meeting in San Francisco. Tommy’s goal is to become a physician. In today’s environment, going above and beyond the usual college experience is essential for successful medical school applications.
- Alex Hauptman, Mechanical Engineering and Finance Major – In 2021, Brother Hauptman received one of the first Giving Circle grants. He developed an innovative business enterprise with the $2,000 Giving Circle award. He offered the Oxford community a prototype charcuterie food arrangement with a personalized cutting board design. In 2022, Brother Hauptman moved away from entrepreneurship and received a second Giving Circle grant. Alex’s funding paid for living expenses at Tesla’s Power Electronics Team in Palo Alto, CA. Alex worked on a project to enhance energy storage and sustainability while at Tesla.
- Jack Hartwell, Finance and Business Economics Major – Brother Hartwell used the $4,500 Giving Circle grant to support his pursuit of a career in investment banking as he participated in the Farmer School of Business’s Wall Street Week program in January 2022. Jack participated in discussions with representatives from every corner of the New York finance world, many of them Miami grads. Since his Wall Street experience, Jack has been working part-time with a small money management firm and will be moving to Chicago this summer to begin his career in commercial banking.
- Quinn Dunivan, Biomedical Engineering and Pre-Medical Studies Major – Brother Dunivan’s $3,500 grant provided housing in 2022 as he undertook a position at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center as a researcher in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine. Quinn says “these experiences allowed me to build upon not only my pre-medical education but also my biomedical engineering education as well.”
- Duncan Fox, Accounting and Entrepreneurship Major – Brother Fox received a $4,400 grant in 2022 to support his internship in Seattle with Amazon’s Financial Rotational Program. Duncan’s internship allowed him to be a part of Amazon’s payments accounting team, specifically their payment and Co-Branded Credit Card products that were the responsibility of that team.
- Lorenzo Franciosi, sophomore, Business Economics Major – In 2022, Brother Franciosi interned at Mettler Toledo as a Global Key Account Manager intern in Columbus. The $4,200 Giving Circle grant provided living expenses as Lorenzo focused on data integration with the Marketing Operations side of the company. He used real client data to develop efficient processes for his employer’s sales team, and gained practical experience with Excel and exposure to SAP. His internship confirmed the importance of data analytics, which he will carry with him in his consulting career.
Thank you for your consideration. For information on how to donate to the Alpha Beta Giving Circle, please refer to the following Miami University Foundation link (click here), or email the Giving Circle Steering Committee via this link (click here). For more information on the Giving Circle program, please see miamibeta.org.
