For Marla Donovan, Loyola's Where the Heart Is
The best of us never stop learning and never stop giving. Age and responsibility become points of pride rather than distractions. We extend our senses beyond ourselves. We make new homes and exchange with them pieces of our hearts for new experience.
Marlene "Marla" Lemus Donovan, a local activist and Loyola University New Orleans alumna, belongs in that category—the best of us. In 2009, the March of Dimes Foundation honored her with the Freda Lupin Butterfly Award for outstanding contributions to her community. She currently volunteers for the Hispanic Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New Orleans; the Botanical Garden Foundation, where she is a Trustee; the Colombian Volunteers of New Orleans; Casa Argentina; the Hispanic Heritage Foundation; and Young Audience Kate Middleton Elementary School in Gretna, where she is a founding board member.
Marla also became a member of Loyola's Heritage Society in 1997 when she assigned the ownership of a life insurance policy to Loyola and named the university as the beneficiary of the policy. It's no small gift, but that, Marla believes, is the nature of the exchange—it's the bit of her heart she can now give in return for her experience here.
"It is an easy and convenient way to give back to a university that has an everlasting place in my heart," she says.
And it is convenient—she received a tax deduction for the planned gift in 1997 and continues to receive an annual tax deduction for each premium payment.
Before coming to New Orleans from Barranquilla, Colombia in 1970, she studied international law at La Universidad Javeriana. She also earned an associate's degree in business from Delgado Community College—but she still wanted a college degree.
She'd seen Jesuits educate her brothers in Colombia, and she knew the process was something special. So she enrolled in Loyola's City College as a non-traditional student, a young adult. She worked hard, paid her own way and completed her studies, earning a bachelor's degree in organizational science.
But that didn't end her ties to our university. She was a founding member of the Leadership Committee made up of City College graduates and volunteered for many years on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, serving as its president from 1999 to 2000. In 2001, the Loyola City College Alumni Board recognized her as the most distinguished alumna of the year.
"You might say that I came to Loyola and never left," she says.
In addition, while serving on the City College alumni board, she was instrumental in developing and supporting the Alumni Legacy Scholarship. The scholarship provides stipends to Loyola students to this day, which perhaps encourages students who feel the weight of their schedule or circumstance prevents their continued education. The experience she worked so hard for.
"I received a one-of-a-kind education. The professors were extremely supportive and truly wanted all of us to succeed. They recognized that we were older, had other responsibilities, but they provided a place for us to share ideas. We developed into a close-knit community, and I have remained close to some of my former professors and fellow students."
Loyola will always be a home to Marla. Her heart is here, and you know how the saying goes. Her gift will make this place a home to many more like her—the best, who never stop learning.
Make a Gift From the Heart
A future gift is the perfect way to show support for Loyola University New Orleans. Contact Kevin Maney 504-861-5442 and kmaney@loyno.edu to learn more.
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