Alumni and Friends Making an Impact

When Anna Capaci asked to make the eight-hour trip to visit the University of Dayton, her dad, as her track coach, had one condition: she had to get her mileage in. It was on that run that she decided UD would be her home for the next four years.

“As I ran through campus and the student neighborhood for the first time, I was welcomed by smiles from strangers and greeted by students on porches,” Capaci said. “It gave me a glimpse of the community I would be joining.”

Since her first campus visit, Capaci dove headfirst into the vast range of opportunities UD offers students. And, thanks to donor-funded scholarships, opportunities she never thought would be possible opened up to her.

“Because of the scholarships I received toward tuition, it opened up paths for me to be able to consider a summer study abroad,” she said.

She traveled outside of the country for the first time to Rome for a summer with a group of University of Dayton professors and students through the Business in Rome program. While there, she made lifelong bonds, expanded her perspective and changed her approach to conversations with potential future employers. 

“I know that a lot of big public accounting offices have programs where you can go abroad to work at their overseas offices. That’s definitely something that I’d be interested in that I wouldn’t have thought about before,” she said. “So those conversations with different companies help me narrow down my job search.”

In addition to her study abroad experience, scholarships also gave her the opportunity to intern in Washington, D.C., for one of the top six accounting firms in the country.

“A lot of different, unexpected possibilities opened up for me that I never came to UD thinking that I was going to be able to do,” she said.

While she has experienced several opportunities outside of campus, her on-campus experience has been just as fruitful. She has worked for Flyer Enterprises, holding multiple executive and managerial positions. She also serves as the vice president of Alpha Kappa Psi, a business fraternity that helps members grow personally and professionally. Additionally, she still makes time for fun, hosting a podcast from the Story Studio in the library and playing every intramural sport she possibly can.

“There are so many opportunities offered at the University of Dayton, and I truly could not see myself at any other university,” she said. She credits her ability to attend UD to the generosity of donors. “I would not be able to be in this position, and I probably wouldn't have considered Dayton, without the initial support from donors and scholarships,” she shared.

And Capaci still loves to run through the UD neighborhood: “The feeling that I got that day running through campus has not been dulled by living here the past four years, and that is because the University of Dayton is truly so special.”