Thursday, March 21, 2024, 7 p.m. UD’s men’s basketball team had just rallied to beat Nevada in the first round of March Madness. I had a PTO board meeting for my youngestc hild’s grade school (at a bar — don’t judge). I walked in wearing a Dayton Flyers shirt (because, of course). One by one the other parents attending the meeting arrived. The second one to join also was wearing a UD sweatshirt. So was the third, and the fourth. We had all carved out time to watch the game in between driving carpools and making dinner before heading to the meeting. Of the seven who attended the meeting that night, five came in Flyers gear. Four of us are alumni. The fifth is from Dayton and married an alum. And the other two, well, we forgave them.
Illustration by Ron Acklin
The fact that we were all UD grads and also on PTO together wasn’t planned. We weren’t at UD together. We didn’t intentionally join the PTO board at the same time. But we did all choose UD. We have similar mindsets. We enjoy giving back. We were all influenced at a young age by those UD values: Learn. Lead. Serve.
We’re proud of our college’s emphasis on that Marianist philosophy, and we’re proud to serve our school community now.
So, was it a coincidence that we’re all on the board together? Yes. But it’s not really surprising at all when you think about it.(I might also mention that all of us were hyped about that win! There may have even been multiple rounds of “Let’s go, Flyers!” between us and the table of Flyers across from us.
A version of this article appears in print in the Winter 2024-45 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 63. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE
