Why We Soar: Values learned

Although she says the University of Dayton that she attended looks different than the one she graduated from just six years ago, Hailee Rennels ’18 said little reminders of UD bring her back to the community she called home not too long ago.

The first-year students who once ran around Rennels’ floor during her years as a residence assistant in Marycrest now share a piece of their lives with her on social media. The marketing students she’s spoken to as a guest in their classrooms now serve on the same committees she’s involved in.

“I continue to give back because … I continue to see it come back to me,” said Rennels, whose giving over six years has made her a member of UD’s Front Porch Society. “The UD community is just great like that, where I don't know if you would get that at a lot of other places.”

Finding a sense of home at UD, Rennels strives to make her alma mater a place where every current and future Flyer feels that same warmth and welcome she experienced the moment she stepped foot on campus.

Rennels became one of the only first-year students in the Student Alumni Association — and eventually became the organization’s president. Two years after Rennels graduated, the organization merged to become what’s currently known as Students for University Advancement.

“[I] joined that organization on advice from my sister, who [said], ‘Try to get involved with your alumni because they're gonna give you the world if you let them,’” Rennels said. “So I said, ‘Sure, sign me up!’”

As a member of that organization, Rennels said she started to learn about philanthropy, advancement and how to keep participating in University initiatives after graduating with a degree in marketing.

“I continue to give back because … I continue to see it come back to me.”

She also learned about the value of money, something she’s continuing to learn about in her new position as a senior associate in marketing strategy at JPMorgan Chase in Columbus, Ohio.

“[The organization] gave me a really good education to be able to also inform my peers as to how giving isn't what you think it is,” Rennels said. “You can give money to certain areas that you feel passionate about. I think that's the cool part about giving is that it does allow you to really make an impact where you want to make an impact.”

Rennels served as chair of the day10 young alumni committee. After learning more about food insecurity at UD at a monthly day10 meeting, Rennels decided to shift gears and give in a different way that would impact students struggling with hunger.

“I originally was giving to the student development fund,” Rennels said. “I changed some of that to go specifically into the food pantry so that I knew my money was going toward a real concern on campus.”

Rennels is no stranger to seeing the struggles students go through. As a residence assistant for two years in Marycrest, Rennels formed close bonds with first-year students and gained a greater understanding of how financial aid impacts the student body.

“Just seeing all the different backgrounds of where [students] came from and the different ways that scholarships were affecting them, and different things that they could and could not participate in because of money,” Rennels said. “It also helped inspire me to realize that not everybody has the same opportunity when they enter a university.” 

Rennels said she quickly realized that a little goes a long way and small, consistent donations can still have a great impact, an impact amplified through UD’s We Soar campaign.

“Donating that money back can really, truly help somebody stay at the University,” Rennels said. “I saw that firsthand based on the stories that my residents were telling me and things that they were confiding in me. I knew that was a bigger opportunity for me to be able to make a bigger impact and keep students like them at UD.”

Donating not only her money, but also giving of her time, Rennels also serves UD by sitting on the Alumni Association board of directors, and co-chairing her Reunion Weekend committee. This fall, Rennels joined the UD board of trustees, where she is the third young alumni trustee in the history of the board.