How can generosity honor others?

"If fortune has smiled on you, put a smile on someone else's face." That is how Lyn Bailey '51 D'Alessandro characterizes her feelings toward establishing scholarship funds at Susquehanna.

When she entered Susquehanna as a first-year student in 1947, the world was a very different place. There was no Sigmund Weis School of Business, World War II had ended and the men and women were home, and she was one of just two women entering the university's Business Administration program. It has been over 70 years since Lyn graduated, and she is proud of the way the university has evolved over the years.

In 1999, Lyn established a scholarship for business students named in honor of her late husband. The Frank S. D'Alessandro Scholarship provides funds to students pursuing any major within the Sigmund Weis School of Business. Lyn's husband struggled and worked hard to achieve his position in the business world. Early in his career, he worked two jobs and attended college at night. Lyn felt a scholarship was an important and special way to honor him, while also helping young people who may be struggling themselves.

Lyn also created a scholarship for students in the performing and fine arts to honor her mother, Marjorie Greene Bailey. As a young woman, Marjorie had been on her way to a promising career on the stage. She had been offered a role in an upcoming Broadway musical, but her parents refused to let her accept it. They considered theatre an improper career for a well-brought-up young woman. Lyn never forgot her mother's dream and established The Marjorie Greene Bailey Theatre, Music and Art scholarship to help young people realize their own dreams in the arts.

Finally, Lyn established The Carolyn Bailey D'Alessandro Scholarship. This scholarship commemorates her belief in the importance of education and her desire to help deserving young people prepare themselves for lives of service and achievement.

With her three scholarships, Lyn has supported a broad range of students with many varied gifts and goals. These scholarships are funded each year with Lyn's annual gifts of securities. She also created a planned gift through her estate, ensuring that SU students will be supported by her funds in perpetuity. This combination of annual support and planned giving means that Lyn can see the impact she is having now, while ensuring that generations of future Susquehannans will benefit from her forward-thinking generosity.