“I was fortunate to receive an academic scholarship to Yale,” said William Burke ’56, “and it is important to me to extend that opportunity to young people today.”
Burke supports financial aid through the Yale Alumni Fund’s Nathan Hale Associates scholarship program. He has enjoyed meeting a recipient of his scholarship: Jesus Montano ES ’18.
A first-generation American and the first in his family to attend college, Jesus graduated with a degree in economics. “Yale is full of intelligent people,” he said. “To be in this environment is a privilege. Without scholarship support, it would have been impossible for me to attend Yale. Scholarship support has been important because it allows me to fulfill the dream my parents had for me.”
After exchanging emails, Burke and Montano met for lunch, visited a San Francisco museum, and discussed the art they had seen. “Most importantly,” Montano said, “I learned about his background. It was great to see that our undergraduate experiences were very similar.”
For Burke, meeting Montano brought to life the impact of his giving to Yale. “He is a charming young man,” he said. “I am happy to have had the opportunity to meet him.”