Why I Give
Allison Wilmington Houston '87
Current Position:
Senior Communications Manager, Accenture
Current Location:
San Anselmo, Calif.
The question for me isn’t “Why I give?” but rather “Why I always wish that I could give more.”
The year was 1983. I had been coaxed into going to HWS where both my parents – Richard Wilmington ’61 and Sally C. Cushenbery Wilmington ’61 – had attended. I arrived from California wearing checkered Vans and owned no socks. When that first Geneva winter arrived, I had what felt like a deeply profound revelation. I was licking an ice cream cone, headed back to my dorm after dinner, and realized: Wow, I can eat this as slowly as I want – it won’t melt if I stay outside! Shortly thereafter, I also discovered that when meteorologists tossed around terms like “20 below,” they meant 20 BELOW ZERO, not 20 below freezing. That extra -32 degrees makes a big difference.
The other thing I learned … I was not ready for college. In my sophomore year, after being on academic probation, I had the worst and best meeting of my life with the William Smith Academic Dean. I was told to take some time off. I was not being kicked out, I would not lose my financial aid, they absolutely wanted me back, but I needed to take some time away to discover what was important to me. HWS would be waiting with open arms when I was ready to return.
The suggested semester away ended up being 15-months, my choice.
I went out into the world and got a full-time office job. I discovered that was still not enough income to live on my own, and so I added a second job as waitress. I worked at least 65 hours every week for more than a year. I learned more about myself during that time than any other in my life.
When I returned to campus, I was a college student at last. I fell utterly and madly in love with my time at HWS. I connected deeply with my professors, established incredible friendships that I still hold dear today, took courses that opened up my worldview and mind. The last two years I got straight A’s, not because I was focused on the grades, but because I was enchanted with the learning.
HWS helped unlock the creative, curious and adaptive thinker in me that has been the hallmark of my professional career. HWS gave me the gift of a lifetime in the incredibly supportive way they asked me to take time off. And the giving continued when I returned with the depth and quality of my educational experience.
Since then, I give back to HWS as much as I can. And every time I do, I wish it could be more.