April 10, 2024
Sue ’86 and Ron Dwyer-Voss ’87
We met at CLU as sociology majors taking Byron Swanson’s Peace and Justice class where we studied MLK, Gandhi, Thoreau, Mandela and others and discussed ways to live out a commitment to the values of peace and social justice. That and a kiss in Buth Park are where our journey together began. As a university, CLU prepared us very well for graduate school and our careers. As a community, CLU prepared us to go into a diverse, complex, multi-cultural world with faith, open minds and open hearts. We have been fortunate to enjoy meaningful careers in Social Work and Community Organizing/Social Change.
While attending CLU we were each provided with the financial aid we needed to be able to attend and graduate. We want to make sure future students with an interest in pursuing a career working for peace, social justice and racial equity are encouraged to do so and provided the financial aid they need to attend and graduate. So for this year’s #CalLutheranCares we are starting an annual scholarship for a student of color majoring in sociology who is committed to working towards peace, social justice and racial equity. The Peace and Social Justice scholarship will provide a minimum $2500 scholarship to such a student each year.
We invite other alumni who share these values to contribute to this scholarship fund to increase the amount of support CLU can provide. As we sit here sheltering-at-home, we are reflecting on our many CLU friendships and connections. Our CLU friends and family all have their own wonderful #CalLutheranCares stories! We are grateful for this community and happy to be able to increase our financial commitment for future students.