Members of the Senior Class Gift committee presented a banner to President Griffith as a symbol of their donation to the college.

At the beginning of the school year, 2011 class president and Advertising & Graphic Design major David Merz (CCAD 2011) asked his classmates to help make a mark as the first CCAD class to leave behind a class gift. And it was a pretty simple ask. “Leave a little, leave a lot. We’re leaving a legacy. Our class participation shows that we believe in CCAD and in ourselves. So give $20. Give $2. It’s not about the money. It’s about our symbol of support.”

At the Senior Picnic hosted by President Denny Griffith, Merz and his fellow Senior Class Gift committee members presented a class banner to President Griffith to represent their gift. Signed by the members of the class of 2011 and featuring the class’s slogan (go forth and be awesome), the banner will hang at all of the group’s future alumni gatherings.

Through the 100 Days until Graduation event and the production of a class video, the class of 2011 raised funds to benefit technology and facilities upgrades; scholarships; professional development for CCAD faculty members; and lectures and studio visits by creative professionals.  Five percent of the graduates participated.

“Five percent is a lot—but we’d like to see that number grow,” said Merz. “We want the class of 2012 to beat our participation rate, and the class of 2013 to beat theirs, and so on and so forth. We want to leave behind a legacy of philanthropy—fueled by a bit of healthy competition of course.”