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CONNECTIONS
CONNECTIONS
UMD’s Student Crisis Fund Is Making a Difference
As lives were upended by COVID-19, the
University of Maryland’s Student Crisis Fund
delivered unprecedented amounts of aid, doing so
amid unprecedented need. Months later, many of
those needs continue.
Since March, more than $1 million has been
distributed to over 2,00 students representing every
college and school, with the average student receiving
roughly $500 in aid. The fund, which was established
in 2001 and is financed by donations, serves as a
resource for students in times of crisis.
For some UMD students, the pandemic resulted
in unexpected medical expenses. Others incurred
new expenses from a sudden change in living
arrangements. Months later, those needs continue.
“We want to make sure that we have enough
support to be able to get assistance out to every
“Hearing how people can get those
lessons and experiences to use on their
own adventures or create change within
their spaces is rewarding and makes me
excited for the future.
”
—DAVID QUATTRONE, MBA '05
student impacted by COVID-19, but we also know
that there are just general crises that our students face
regardless of the pandemic,” says Ed Kenny, director
of development and external relations in UMD’s
Division of Student Affairs, which oversees the
fund. “As we ramp up back into the fall and spring,
students are going to have significant needs and we
want to be there for them.”
What makes the Student Crisis Fund effective is
its ability to get financial support in the hands of
students quickly, often in just a matter of days.
“Contributions of $50 from 10 different people can
help us reach our goal of $500 per student, but any
participation carries impact and even the smallest
of donations can help change lives,” says Maryland
Smith’s Chris Dax, assistant dean of Development and
Alumni Relations. /PS/
To make a contribution, visit
go.umd.edu/crisisfund
WHY I GIVE
From a Fantasy League, Helping Dreams Come True
How a long-connected group of alumni came together to start a scholarship for Smith students
‘You Grab the Opportunities That Present Themselves’
David and Robyn Quattrone know about the
entrepreneurial hustle and how hard it can be
to start from scratch. It’s why they give back to
help the next generation of entrepreneurs.
David Quattrone, MBA ’05 and co-founder
and chief technology officer of Cvent Inc., a
provider of web-based software for meetings
and events, learned as an entrepreneur out of
college that while the first try isn’t always the
best, it does offer important lessons.
“One of the biggest things I took away from
it is that you grab the opportunities that present
themselves,” he said. “I’d say we barely broke
even, maybe even lost a little money during that
first venture. But through it, we learned what
kind of skills we needed to build up over time.”
Robyn Quattrone understands that learning
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SMITH BUSINESS
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fall 2020
curve. She spent 11 years at a large law firm,
before breaking out and helping to build a
Washington, D.C.-based boutique law firm from
the ground up. She recently launched a second,
smaller firm, this time taking on a bigger role in
the managerial process.
“It was like a typical startup at first, in
that we were working 20 hours a day, seven
days a week,” she said. “When it’s your own
opportunity, it doesn’t seem as much like work,
but rather more fun because you’re so invested
in the process.”
Together, the Quattrones have worked
to share their knowledge, experiences and
philanthropy to help Maryland Smith students.
They’ve worked since 2015 with Smith’s
Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, helping
fund its annual Pitch Dingman competition, a
Shark Tank-style event in which UMD students
compete for non-dilutive seed funding.
For the past five years, students pitched for
a chance at $30,000 in funding. But through
a new, increased commitment from the
Quattrones, student entrepreneurs will now
compete for up to $65,000 in seed funding.
As a Pitch Dingman judge, David Quattrone
enjoys engaging with students on their
innovative business ideas. It’s something that
the family looks forward to every year.
“Hearing how people can get those
lessons and experiences to use on their own
adventures or create change within their
spaces is rewarding and makes me excited for
the future.” /PS/
rhsmith.umd.edu
I
t all started with Fantasy Football—16 members in the league, all of
them alumni of Maryland Smith, and all of them former members
of the Delta Sigma Pi co-ed business fraternity.
One day, Daniel Friedman ’98 suggested to the group that they do
something meaningful with a portion of their dues, donating to their alma
mater. Maybe they could help a student in need, he suggested, create a
scholarship and give back. The response was resounding, Friedman said.
Everybody wanted to contribute.
“The consensus, among everyone, was that they wanted to create a
need-based scholarship opportunity,” recalled Jitin “Miki” Ahuja, ’97,
MS ’02, MBA ’02. “We wanted to give kids an opportunity they wouldn’t
have otherwise.”
Ahuja reached out to Maryland Smith’s Office of Development and
Alumni Relations to find out what was possible. Meanwhile, the group, led
by Ahuja, Friedman and Friedman’s older brother, Martin Friedman, ’91,
began exploring beyond the 16 Fantasy Football players, reaching out to
the entire membership of the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity. After all, it was
the fraternity that had brought the group together, years ago, even before
Fantasy Football.
If they could raise $50,000 between them, they could start a scholarship,
making a difference that lasts.
“It snowballed. We had 50 brothers who wanted in,” Ahuja said, with
total funds raised quickly exceeding that minimum threshold.
Together, they endowed the need-based Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship
Fund. Like Ahuja and the Friedmans, many of the alumni had thought for
years about how to give back to College Park, where they grew, where their
careers took root, where they made vitally important contacts. Some didn’t
know how. Others didn’t have the minimum threshold to create a standing
scholarship.
The Fantasy league and the fraternity brotherhood broke down those
barriers. /KJ/