Working in Financial Aid to Providing It

When Melissa Englund started working at Drexel, she never imagined she would still be here more than three decades later. Now, she is giving back by establishing a scholarship that will help future students pursue their degree at the place that has shaped her long career.

As a recent graduate looking to stay in Philadelphia, Melissa Englund applied for a job at Drexel University thinking it would be a temporary position while she figured out what she wanted to do. She had no idea that her job at Drexel would be far more than a stopover – and that 35 years later she would be making a permanent mark on the University by establishing the Melissa M. Englund Endowed Scholarship Fund.

During her long and storied career at Drexel, Melissa has had firsthand experience with many different facets of the University. From academic operations to central administration, her position has given her the opportunity to see what Drexel means to faculty, staff and students alike. But it was her time in the Financial Aid Office that gave her the opportunity to see what Drexel means to families and inspired her to give back with a planned gift.

“Close to my first day in the Financial Aid Office, there was a family that was coming in to discuss a gift they made every year, which I later learned was in memory of their deceased daughter. They made the gift to Drexel on her birthday. It made me understand that the gifts that are given are usually very personal and very impactful,” Melissa recalls. “And so, when I considered what I was going to do with my money while estate planning, I would think about what could be the most impactful. What can make a big difference here.”

While Melissa has donated to a wide range of funds over the course of her Drexel career, when it came to making a planned gift, she knew she wanted to support scholarships. As a first-generation college student, she knows how crucial financial aid can be to a student. She established the Melissa M. Englund Endowed Scholarship Fund to enable the next generation of students to pursue their goals. “Leaving money for scholarships for somebody who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to pursue a dream felt important,” she says. “And this was also a way for my family name to carry on.”

Melissa knows well how important the pursuit of a dream can be for students, and how much receiving their degree means to them. For almost every year of her career at Drexel, she has been deeply involved in Commencement, whether managing the individual ceremonies for the schools and colleges or leading students onto the field during the university-wide celebration at Citizens Bank Park. But her favorite part? Being one of the last people students see as they walk across the stage to collect their degree; getting to see the joy on their faces as they celebrate the culmination of years of hard work.

Melissa knows just how much time, effort and sacrifice it takes to get to that stage and collect that degree. “My advice to students is to persevere,” she says. “I know that it’s not always easy, but it’s important to reach toward your goal. And once you reach that, continue to give back.”