At Syracuse University, generosity drives progress—supporting scholarships and internships, immersive experiences and student organizations that connect interests and build community.
That’s the “Orange Ripple Effect,” celebrated on Syracuse Giving Day (March 24), when every donor’s support reflects Orange pride and creates synergistic benefits across campus.
Support the School of Education’s Giving Day.
Help Students Turn Passions into Careers
Giving back has always been important to Maya Carter ’25, G’26. Growing up in a military family that has lived around the world, she’s visited senior homes and orphanages and pitched in on community projects. Living in Japan when the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck, she and her Girl Scout troop created 1,000 paper cranes—a symbol of hope—and she helped assemble care packages for families affected by the disaster.
“I’ve always felt passionate and alive when connecting with others,” she says. “There was always a way to communicate with others in a way that was meaningful to them.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in social work, Carter is pursuing a master’s in Social Work (M.S.W.) at the School of Education as a Genovese Scholar. The scholarship program, established by an anonymous donor in honor of social work professor Jennifer Genovese G’83, G’13, provides generous scholarships, faculty mentorship and support to prepare exceptional M.S.W. students to serve their communities.
“The scholarship feels like a vote of confidence—not just in me, but in the work that we do as social workers,” she says. “It’s really connected me to the Syracuse community and deepened my understanding of the disparities across different populations specific to Syracuse.”
This semester, Carter works individually with adult learners at the Syracuse Educational Opportunity Center, providing guidance and emotional support to students navigating such issues as housing insecurity, poverty, learning disabilities, foster care, correctional systems and immigration challenges.
“Scholarships like this push us, foster our interests and provide mentorship in a field that can be emotionally challenging,” Carter says. “They not only support us individually but also support our communities—because when we’re resourced in that way, we can engage more deeply, ethically and sustainably with the people we meet and serve.”
“Scholarships like this … not only support us individually but also support our communities.”
Maya Carter ’25, G’26
Be the Reason Students Find Their Community
Across Syracuse University’s student organizations—from the African Student Union and DanceWorks to Otto Tunes and the Orange Robotics Club—funding support opens doors.
Best Buddies International builds a community rooted in one-on-one friendships between matriculated students and InclusiveU students.
“Being involved in Best Buddies gave me a sense of purpose and belonging that I think a lot of people are seeking in college,” says co-president Hannah Murphy ’26, who has been involved with the organization since seventh grade and joined the Syracuse University chapter in her first year. “It helps get everybody integrated into campus life to help form friendships—which is a really good thing, especially for first-year students who might be struggling to make connections.”
InclusiveU student Michaela Skye Mazur ’28 serves on Best Buddies’ executive board and is VP Buddy director, helping pair members together. “Making those one-on-one friendships is really important,” Mazur says.
Best Buddies—which has nearly 40 active members and a broader community of more than 200 students—hosts activities throughout the year, including Friendsgiving, a Palentine’s Day card-making gathering and their signature events, the Friendship Walk and the Friendship Ball. The organization has been involved in the Syracuse Giving Day student organization challenge, connecting with alumni and raising awareness. Additional funding would allow Best Buddies to expand its events and supplies.
“At our meetings, it’s so wonderful to watch a new member come out of their shell, get more talkative and start forming connections with people even in such a short amount of time,” Murphy says. “It’s a really beautiful thing.”
And generosity that supports student organizations can make a difference in their members’ lives—creating opportunities that bring them together for shared experiences that build friendships and community.
Adapted from Syracuse Stories. By Jay Cox.
