Donor Support Gives UNO Student Freedom to Pursue His Passion
April 24, 2024
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“It’s allowed me to shift my attention towards my academics and extracurricular activities.”
Picture this: You’re a full-time college student majoring in Civil Engineering while also working two part-time jobs to pay for college tuition and rent. The endless amount of energy spent trying to manage your workload on top of figuring out how to pay your bills this month leaves you completely exhausted. Stressful, right?
Many students can relate to this stressful feeling. In a study conducted by the National Institute of Health, 72% of college students experience financial stress when it comes to meeting tuition costs. Thankfully, there are many scholarships made possible by donors like you, allowing students to have more freedom to pursue their passions.
A senior studying Civil Engineering at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Alex Martinez, has been greatly impacted by donor support throughout his college career. “Funding from donors to support students like me has been super valuable,” said Martinez. “It’s allowed me to shift my attention towards my academics and extracurricular activities.” Without the stress of working part-time jobs to pay his bills, Martinez can pursue his passion for engineering by serving as president of the Latinos in STEM organization on UNO’s campus.
LSTEM is an organization that helps promote professional advancements for minorities by fostering cooperation among industry, alumni and the academic and professional communities to improve educational and employment opportunities.
During his freshman year, Martinez had a hard time finding a sense of community. After a conversation with his advisor, he discovered LSTEM. “It was a safe place where I felt comfortable expressing myself,” said Martinez. From that point forward, Martinez knew he wanted to be a part of this organization that provides future students with a sense of community and mentorship.
Not only is LSTEM a great way to connect with other students, but it also provides members with the chance to build their professional network. One of their biggest annual events is the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers conference. With the help of donations, “we were able to send 10 students last year to Salt Lake City, Utah for this convention,” said Martinez. “It was a great opportunity to network with other students from around the country and the region as well.”
Martinez has discovered many new things about himself during his time at LSTEM. He discovered his new passion for working with kids and finding fun, interactive ways to introduce them to STEM. He’s had the chance to become a mentor for many children while working with the Gomez Elementary School and the Science Museum in downtown Omaha. Introducing this younger generation to STEM is something that brings Martinez a lot of joy and allows him to pursue two of his passions at the same time.
Having the opportunity to get involved in extracurricular activities provides students with skills and experiences that they may not be able to get in the classroom. Holding the role as president of LSTEM has “really helped my leadership skills and communication skills,” said Martinez. “I’ve made great connections with not only other professionals, but also other students who have become some of my closest friends.” These are the memories and relationships that Martinez will take with him after graduation and throughout the rest of his life.
Your support greatly impacts the lives of students like Alex, allowing them to pursue their passions and discover new ones. Not only will you impact students financially, but it also sticks with them emotionally. Martinez will never forget all the people who supported him throughout his college career. “I want to be that support for someone else, I want to give back to this community,” said Martinez. “Investing in younger generations is a great decision because that’s ultimately the future.”
Your gift to this fund supports UNO students by providing scholarships recognizing academic excellence and financial need.
The impact of the funds raised during Wear Black, Give Back can be seen through the smiles on each student’s face.
This year’s fourth annual 24-hour fundraiser raised a record-setting $761,285 from nearly 5,000 generous donors to support the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Student organizations played an active role in this year’s Wear Black, Give Back. 59 different student groups registered to participate in this year’s fundraiser, collectively raising over $55,000.
These funds enable student organizations to focus on providing an impactful experience to students. Funds used through Wear Black, Give Back are used by student groups across campus to cover registration fees for new members, reduce travel costs and provide impactful programming.
Thank you for your support of the University of Nebraska at Omaha during this year’s Wear Black, Give Back!
Kaitlyn Lorenzen remembers trying every sport under the sun as a child.
The Omaha native’s parents encouraged her to stay active. Growing up in Nebraska, volleyball was an easy choice for Kaitlyn. It didn’t take long before she was hooked, turning a childhood hobby into a passion that has lasted a lifetime.
“I just fell in love with it,” Kaitlyn said. “Really, my whole life revolved around the sport because it was what I loved the most.”
Kaitlyn’s love and dedication for the sport only grew through high school. That passion led to an opportunity to play volleyball at Southeast Community College in Lincoln. Now, she is pursuing a master’s degree in athletic training at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Even after stepping away from volleyball as a student-athlete, she wasn’t ready to give up the sport. So, Kaitlyn got involved with the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s club volleyball team, serving as the team’s president.
“It’s always been a part of what I do and it’s a huge stress reliever for me,” she said. “Finding somewhere that I could still play while still having time to focus on school was important to me. It made me realize that I could still have it be a part of my life.”
Kaitlyn’s love for the sport is representative of the connection so many Nebraskans have with volleyball. So, when the University of Nebraska announced its first-ever Volleyball Day in Nebraska earlier this year, Kaitlyn knew she had to be in Memorial Stadium Aug. 30.
“I instantly thought it was awesome,” Kaitlyn said. “The fact that these girls get to play in front of 90,000 people is just an amazing opportunity.”
Kaitlyn was one of the 92,0003 fans who filled Memorial Stadium on Aug. 30 as Nebraska Volleyball hosted the University of Nebraska at Omaha, making history by becoming the most attended women’s sporting event in history. The match was preceded by an exhibition match between the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Wayne State College in a local doubleheader celebrating the impact of volleyball in the state.
When Kaitlyn joined the sea of red, black and blue celebrating Volleyball Day in Nebraska in Memorial Stadium Aug. 30, she thought about all the student-athletes being celebrated during the historic event.
“It was really cool to see the joy on their faces and see how hard they’ve worked to get to a point in their lives where they have the opportunity to be a part of this,” she said. “It was also just incredible to see how many people in Nebraska really do love the sport of volleyball and love to support the state.”
Community members, alumni and friends are invited to take their support for Nebraska athletics further by investing in athletic programs at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Gifts will directly support current and future student-athletes by funding scholarships, travel expenses, equipment, medical care and nutrition, and help to attract, recruit and retain top talent. Gifts may be made at OnlyinNebraska.org/VBDay now through Sept. 30.
Mavforensics’ first in-person tournament season since 2019 brings top placements, awards, and well-deserved recognition for their hard work.
Interested in supporting Mavforensics and making sure they are in the best position to compete at the highest level? Then follow this link to their crowdfunding page!
This article originally appeared in the UNO Newsroom.
UNO’s nationally-ranked competitive speech team, Mavforensics, has competed in two national competitions this year, with one left to go in the season.
The team continues their tradition of excellence at the national level, placing in the top 10 at the first Asynchronous Speech Championship (ASC) and the top 15 at the American Forensic Association (AFA).
The ASC is a national tournament inspired by the popularity and success of asynchronous tournaments. Originally created as a way to increase and sustain competition during the pandemic, asynchronous competition became the third type of forensics format the students practice today. Students perform their events in front of a camera, record that performance, upload it to a secure YouTube link, and then submit to the tournament. Judges view, critique, and rank the filmed speeches, and this style of competition has been officially voted in as a permanent tournament style.
The first ever ASC had over 50 schools and 1,000 speaking videos entered. Three Mavericks were recognized at the ASC, and the team won two placements in the team sweepstakes:
In their first in-person national tournament since 2019, Mavforensics continues to rank highly, placing 15th overall with only one senior, two other returning members, and five first-year students to the national state tournament.
Mavforensics took eight students to the AFA-NST 2022. Out of more than 50 schools across the country, Mavericks had two quarterfinalists, one semifinalist, and finished 15th overall in the nation in team sweepstakes:
Co-director Amanda vonGoodrich says, “This season was another one full of change and uncertainty, but this team showed they are driven, qualified, and are capable of creating amazing, important messages worth sharing.
“Thanks so much to the AFA-NST and University of Nebraska-Lincoln for creating a safe, organized, wonderful tournament. The covid protocol was thorough, organized, and handled with expert care.”
In addition to the results for these national tournaments, two UNO students have qualified for Interstate Oratory, the oldest public speaking competition in the country. The students qualify based on the top two placings at the state tournament. This would be an impressive accomplishment by itself, but Nebraska is also the most competitive state in the country for forensics (the only state with four teams in the top 20 nationally).
2285 South 67th St
Suite 200
Omaha, NE 68106
800-432-3216
info@nufoundation.org
