Thy B. Bui
Thy B. Bui’s story is one of COMMUNITY. Her personal experience as a first-generation undergraduate student in the UCDC program inspired her endowed gift that will empower generations to come.
Sound Bites
Headlines
- Helping students turn “can’t afford it” into “wow, I did it!”
- Creating a ripple of opportunity across generations
Hooks
- Before she was a lawyer, Thy B. Bui was a first-generation undergraduate student studying on Pell Grants. She credits her current success to her experience in the UCDC program and has established an endowed scholarship to make the program more accessible to students like her.
- Often, a student sees an opportunity and thinks, “I can’t do this because I can’t afford it.” With her endowed scholarship, Thy B. Bui hopes to prevent that thought for students interested in the UCDC program by providing funding support that covers the gap between academic scholarship costs and the cost of living for generations to come.
Quotes
- “[This scholarship] will lift the burden in terms of if you have enough money to go to UCR for the quarter and you’ve got this coverage in the gap, then you’ve got enough money to go to D.C. for the quarter. I’m hoping that it will, at least for a couple of students a year, keep them from saying to themselves, ‘I can’t do this because I can’t afford it.’” Thy B. Bui
Narrative
Almost 50% of undergraduate students enrolled at UC Riverside receive federal Pell Grants, awards given to students with exceptional financial need. Thy B. Bui was one of those students. During her time at UCR, Bui, a first-generation student, participated in the UCDC program and credits the experience with setting her on the path to her legal career.
Programs like UCDC, however, are often inaccessible to many students because of the costs not covered by tuition or academic scholarships. Wanting to reduce those financial barriers and enable students like her to take advantage of this educational and skills-building opportunity, Bui created an endowed scholarship that will provide gap funding to cover costs beyond tuition. Her philanthropic legacy means more students will have a chance to live and learn in Washington D.C.
So often students see an opportunity and think, “I can’t do this because I can’t afford it.” With her endowed scholarship, Bui has left a legacy of hope and opportunity. Her gift opens doors for more students and shows that a single bold heart can create a ripple of hope and mobility for generations of brilliant, young minds.
Strategy
Thy B. Bui had an experience as a student that was so impactful, she wanted generations to come to be able to access it without burden. Her story is fantastic to showcase the empowering community that lives and thrives at UCR.
Her story and quotes are best used in:
- Brochures
- Proposals
- Appeals – print, email, and digital
- Newsletters
- Conversations
Suggested uses:
- When building relationships with alumni who have the capacity to give, share Thy’s story as an example of ways alumni can engage.
- When discussing the lifetime impact of an education at UCR, and a donor’s capacity to create generational change, share Thy’s story.
- When showcasing how a gift to UCR goes further than it might at another university, share Thy's story
Resources
Usage Examples
Printed & mailed appeal:
