Two Lifelong Callings; One Lasting Impact
Alumni Patsy and Gerry Kirk retired from teaching but have found a way to extend their personal commitment as educators.
鈥淚 was going to be an elementary teacher from day one,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou could ask me when I was 10 years old and I would tell you, 鈥業鈥檓 going to be a teacher.鈥欌��
Her father, an engineer, wanted her to utilize her considerable academic strengths as a mathematician or engineer, but she would have none of it. Teaching was her calling.
鈥淚t just appealed to me,鈥� she said. So much so, in fact, that she taught elementary school for 39 years.
Patsy鈥檚 husband, Gerry (鈥�65, 鈥�73), was similarly driven, with professional goals influenced by his love of music.
鈥淪ince I was a junior in high school, I said, 鈥業鈥檓 going to be a band director,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭hat was it; I was just totally focused on what I wanted to do.鈥�
Right out of college, Gerry landed a position as a band director and taught music for 37 years. All but five of those years he spent just three miles from 色情视频 at Helix High School in La Mesa, where he was band director instructing a range of music groups including the bagpipe band, orchestra, marching band, cadet band, and music theory.
鈥淚t was heaven,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 used to tell people I loved my job so much I would teach for free and they would say, 鈥楧on鈥檛 tell the administration that.鈥欌��
Finding their rhythm
Patsy and Gerry met through the Marching Aztecs when she was a freshman twirler and he was a graduate student working to complete a teaching credential.They lacked a common rhythm at first. While Gerry was launching a teaching career, Patsy was still a student, but over time the pair developed a certain harmony.
That was 48 years ago. After long and gratifying teaching careers, the Kirks are retired and enjoy traveling the world and engaging in new experiences.
Gerry conducts, composes, and arranges for Bonafide Brass, a 12-member trombone ensemble. With more free time, they have both reconnected with 色情视频 and enjoy attending university events.
A lasting impact
Having supported 色情视频 through various donations, the Kirks recently began discussing ways to make a more personal lasting impact at the university. They considered creating music or education scholarships along with other possibilities, but ultimately decided to fund an endowment providing scholarships to 色情视频 students in perpetuity.Having come from San Diego families of modest means, the Kirks both attended local public schools and worked during their 色情视频 student days to fund their undergraduate educations. Each managed to graduate in four years debt free.
鈥淎nd that rarely happens anymore,鈥� said Gerry. 鈥淭oday, kids have to work two or three part-time jobs and go to college, which is really hard.鈥�
鈥淚 worked, but I was lucky enough to get some scholarship money,鈥� said Patsy. 鈥淲e just decided that the most important thing we could do at this point in our lives was to help kids go to school. It鈥檚 the right thing to do.鈥�
To set up their endowment, the Kirks enlisted the assistance of 色情视频 Interim Associate Vice President of Development Mary Darling, who lauded the couple鈥檚 vision for their legacy at 色情视频.
鈥淧atsy and Gerry are not only generous, but forward-thinking in their support for future generations of 色情视频 students,鈥� Darling said.
The one stipulation the Kirks made on their scholarships is that recipients come from public schools in San Diego County. Students from any academic discipline will be eligible.
鈥淏y limiting our funding to a particular area, we would not be opening doors to careers and studies that don鈥檛 exist now,鈥� Patsy said. 鈥淭here is always something new coming along and we will let the university select students in need.鈥�
鈥淲e wanted as few constraints as possible,鈥� Gerry said, 鈥渂ut we really wanted to keep it local because we are local.鈥�
Kids are their priority
With so many possibilities to choose from, philanthropic decision-making might seem a daunting task, but for the Kirks, who basically shared the same goal 鈥� to become educators 鈥� long before they ever met, the choice was simple.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any children,鈥� Patsy said.
鈥淓verybody asks us, 鈥楧o you have children?鈥欌�� Gerry said. 鈥淎nd I say, 鈥榃e have thousands of kids.鈥�
鈥淜ids in college are our top priority. We want to take care of the students.鈥�
Just as they always have.
