Planned Giving
David Yamada ’81 Makes Legacy Gift to Help Fund Study Abroad
 David Yamada ’81 |
David Yamada ’81 says that the semester he spent at Valparaiso University’s study center in Cambridge, England, was one of the most formative experiences of his life — and he is making a legacy gift through his estate to help future students spend a semester abroad.
“That semester strongly influenced my personal culture: the way I would live and the work I would do,” says David, who went on to earn a law degree and now teaches at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. “It expanded my worldview, and it forged lifelong friendships.”
The endowed fund is called the C-27 Study Abroad Scholarship Fund — “C-27” was the administrative moniker for the 27th group of Valpo students to study in Cambridge.
Last year David was honored with a Valpo Alumni Achievement Award for outstanding achievement in one’s chosen career. For the past 20 years he has been engaged in research, public education, and legislative advocacy concerning workplace bullying and abuse. He has also been honored for his work by Columbia University Teachers College and Americans for Democratic Action.
“As an undergraduate, I had my eyes set on law school and an eventual career in politics,” David says. “But looking back, I now understand how my Valpo experience — both classroom and extracurricular activities, as well as my semester abroad in England — helped to plant the seeds for a career in higher education.”
David urges other alumni to consider gifts to their alma mater: “Think of a creative way to support the best aspect of your Valpo experience and to honor the people who helped to make it so,” he says.
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