Root

Advancement Report
A Rosy Future of Giving
The UTS Grad Class Bursary was created by UTS parents to honour their children – and UTS.
This year, the graduating S6 students chose to
celebrate their last day of school with a new
twist on a UTS tradition. (Don’t worry: I’m not
talking about the Grad Prank – that still goes on!)
During the final assembly of the year, instead of
identifying a single staff member to honour above
all others, the Class of 2015 decided to honour all
UTS staff by presenting each and every one of us
with a lovely, long-stemmed rose. This thoughtful
and charming gesture was genuinely appreciated
by all of the UTS staff. For those of you who
were at UTS in 1973, and perhaps unbeknownst
to the students in assembly this past June, this
considerate act was also a throwback to the
welcome the UTS boys of ’73 gave to the first
cohort of UTS girls, in the very same auditorium.
(See The Root, Fall 2013.)
That afternoon, admiring the rose sitting
on my office desk, I was reminded of my first
year at UTS. Kathleen Crook, mother of Sarah
Penturn ’07, dropped by one day and suggested
that we set up a system through which parents
of S6 students could give a gift to honour their
child’s graduation from the school. New and
naïve, my mind turned to the inventory of UTS
swag we had on hand – baseball cap, anyone?
Kathleen kindly pointed out that she and her
husband, James Penturn ’77, had in mind
something longer-lasting and more significant.
And so, eight years ago, the UTS Grad Class
Bursary was born, created by UTS parents to
honour their children – our newest alumni— and
the positive experience their kids enjoyed during
their time at UTS.
Since its launch, parents of graduating students
have donated more than $170,000 in bursary
support. In some years, those same studenthonorees
have added their own donations to the
fund to celebrate one another. As a result of this
generosity, in the 2014-15 school year, $6,500 was
provided to a UTS student in bursary support.
In just a few weeks, our newest alumni will
return to UTS for their graduation ceremony.
I am mindful that the initial bursary grant from
the Grad Class Bursary was made in 2009 – which
means that the Class of 2015 is the first cohort to
have received funds from this source every year
they were at the school. I am also mindful that
it is the gifts of financial aid made by alumni,
parents, and staff that allowed fully 20% of this
class to enter UTS, remain at UTS, and graduate
from UTS.
When the S6 students presented those roses
during assembly, they declared that they were
doing so in appreciation for all of the gifts
they had received over the course of their six
years at the school. As such, their message was
directed to all of you who have supported our
students through your financial donations, your
volunteerism, and your advocacy. This generosity
stems from a belief that UTS is worth supporting,
and from an understanding that a commitment
to the growth of UTS students is essential. And
for that, we all thank you. n
Martha Drake
Executive Director,
Advancement
The gifts of financial aid made by
alumni, parents, and staff allowed fully
20% of the class of 2015 to enter UTS,
remain at UTS, and graduate from UTS.
THE UTS ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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