Dear________________,

My name is Channing Downing and I will be a senior undergraduate studying management with a minor in marketing communication. During my time at UW, I have been fortunate enough to experience the profound impact that you have on College of Business students and I hope to share my experience at the University of Wyoming.

My freshman year of college had to have been the roughest year of my life as my parents were in the middle of a bitter divorce leaving my mother a single parent of my brother and I while we were living well below the poverty line. Making ends meet for me and my family became difficult and the option of leaving the University of Wyoming was debated to try to find a more inexpensive option.

Because of your support, I was able to stay at the University of Wyoming and continue my education in a field I am passionate about while continuing building a support system of friends, instructors, and colleagues to get me through a tough time in my life. I was able to find my support system through several College of Business instructors and through Alpha Kappa Psi, the business fraternity here on campus.

Alongside the quality business education UW offers, myself, and my peers, have been able to learn valuable business ethics, accuracy, hard work, and networking skills through lessons both inside and outside of the classroom. I have gained a significant amount of professional development through my business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi. This organization is funded in part by the College of Business enabling our group to bring in professional business speakers talk about their career journey and send members and officers to events focused on networking and development. Without funding from the College of Business through donors like you, we would be very limited as a chapter.

Through the learning opportunities provided by the College of Business both academically and via extra curricular activities, it gave me the confidence in my abilities to be able to pursue several leadership positions on campus with Residence Life and Dining Services and the Wyoming Union. Because of these leadership opportunities and my developing education, I was chosen from a nationwide pool of undergraduate students and placed at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas as a Student Activities Intern for the summer of 2016.

As I reflect on the past three years and see my senior year on the horizon, I experience an inexplicable amount of gratitude for the support I have received and optimism for the future ahead. On May 13, 2017, I will be the first in my family to receive a Bachelor’s degree and will hopefully be on my way to also obtaining a Master’s degree. Because of donors like you, students such as myself are able to keep pushing forward to recognize their full potential without the financial stress on top of the rigors of college.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and plans. On behalf of my fellow past, present, and future College of Business classmates, colleagues, and instructors; we are beyond grateful for your generosity and support.

Warm regards,

Channing Downing