A Parental Tribute Supports Future Students
2 min read
Beverly and Harold Samuels worked hard to support their children, David and Nancy. To supplement his position as a banking executive, Harold had his own business preparing income tax returns for more than 200 clients each tax season. Both were dedicated civic leaders, serving on the boards of several Hartford-area community organizations. Their children learned at a very young age that it was essential to give back to the community.
To honor his parents’ memory, David Samuels has established the Beverly and Harold Samuels Scholarship Fund at the UConn School of Business. “I hope to enable even one more student to complete his or her degree at UConn,” he said.
David was the first in his family to graduate from a four-year college when he obtained his bachelor’s degree from UConn in 1983. “Attending the University of Connecticut enriched my life immeasurably,” he said. David was an active member of business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, graduated magna cum laude, and went on to obtain his M.B.A. from The George Washington University. He began his career with KPMG and has worked in both the real estate and technology industries. David is currently the CFO for a Maryland-based health care IT company.
David has taken his parents’ example to heart in other ways, too, serving as chairman for the Charles E. Smith Life Communities, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit eldercare service providers, and holding fundraising roles for the D.C. chapter of the National Kidney Foundation, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and several other organizations.
While he has found much success in the D.C. area, David has not forgotten his roots. “College was an expensive endeavor for my parents,” he said, recalling how hard his father worked to support part of his children’s education. “Thirty years later, it is almost impossible for students in the financial situation I was in to fund his or her own college education,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to establish this scholarship.”
David’s commitment to philanthropy is affirmed with a bequest intention, which will take the form of a life insurance policy that will add to the fund after his passing. If you’d like to follow David’s example, take a look at our planned giving section.
