Alumni and Friends Making an Impact

“Both of my brothers went to UD, and I really wanted to not go where they went,” said Allison Gerberick with a laugh. “But nowhere felt like home like UD did.”

Family is clearly important to Gerberick, a senior double major in English and criminal justice. When asked who she’s inspired by, she first names her parents and then adds several UD professors. She takes a short pause, as if recalling a fond memory, and then says, “Definitely my grandpa. He is amazing.”

She shares a private family story of her grandfather when he was a young farmer who was so in love with her grandmother that he wanted to give her the world. But family farms were hit hard, so he started a business and put all of his efforts there.

“His business really took off, and he has never stopped giving back,” said Gerberick. She provides an example by sharing how, one particularly harsh winter day in Ohio, he went out and scraped all of his employees’ car windows an hour before they got off work. It’s a tradition he continued until his retirement. “If I can be even a fraction of him, that would be the best.”

Gerberick is a recipient of The Class of 1958 Scholarship, and she’s thankful because the scholarship has provided her with focus and opportunities to give back while she’s still at UD.

“I’m able to go to school without having to work outside class except for summer,” she said. “A lot of my friends work, and I know some have to finish assignments while they’re working. I haven’t had to worry about that, and I’m really thankful.”

Instead, she has volunteered through Campus Ministry as a retreat leader for New Beginnings, The Road Less Traveled and Callings. She is a member of the faith-based Phi Lambda Iota. She’s worked with future service dogs through 4 Paws for Ability, volunteered with local K-8 students through the Dakota Center and tutored prison inmates working on their GED through the Prison Action Group for Education and Service. Those are just some of the highlights she shared.

As she prepares for law school next year, she’s already looking forward to how she’ll be able to give back to UD someday.

“When you give to UD, you’re supporting people who want to make the world a better place,” Gerberick said. “I can’t imagine a better college experience. It’s given me so much happiness, and I don’t think there’s another college like it.”