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| Laura King |
Laura King, the new development officer for the Clarion University Foundation, Inc.,
is no stranger to Clarion. She graduated in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in liberal
arts from Clarion University's Virtual Campus - while working full-time for the March
of Dimes in Erie. At the Foundation, she will work to establish new scholarships and
build upon existing ones.
While at Clarion, King had a great passion for the liberal arts, including theater,
communication and English. She started out as a secondary education major in 1999
and was in the process of exploring a new academic direction when she became involved
with nonprofit work.
"I worked with Diana Brush as a student through the work study program in community service and learned a lot from her," King said. "At the time, I had never thought about working in nonprofit. I later began to think, 'Maybe nonprofit work is for me.'"
Through her involvement with community service at Clarion University, the March of Dimes opportunity presented itself.
"It's a funny story," she said. "I was volunteering at a March of Dimes event at Clarion University. We were short on volunteers, so I jumped in to make order of the chaos. Little did I know, the state director was one of the people I was bossing around. She was impressed with my organization skills. On Monday, she called me to see if I would be interested in a position."
She started out as the senior community director at the Oil City office where she oversaw activities in Clarion, Jefferson and Clearfield counties. When the Oil City office closed, she was promoted to the Erie office. She handled all fundraising for Erie County, including the walk event and other special activities.
She worked closely with large companies, such as General Electric Transportation and Erie Insurance Group, as well as individual families.
"No week was the same," King said. "One day I'd be in the executive offices of GE Transportation and the next day I'd be in the living room of a family who had lost a child. I'll always feel close to the families I worked with."
She is particularly proud of recruiting the CFO of GE Transportation to serve as chair of the March of Babies event.
King believes that the five years she worked with the March of Dimes has prepared her to succeed at Clarion.
"I know how to work with different types of people, and the basic principle of fundraising I learned at the March of Dimes," she said. "Everything is connected. I got my job at the March of Dimes because of my involvement at Clarion University. And I got my job at the Foundation because of my work at the March of Dimes."
King is also active in the Miss America program. She herself received a Miss America scholarship when she was part of Miss Pennsylvania. She is co-director of the organization's Miss Clarion River Valley Scholarship Pageant, which is a preliminary event for Miss Pennsylvania and part of the Miss America organization.
"That's how I learned the value of scholarship. It instilled in me values in women that they can use throughout their lives."
King will be able to use her personal experience with scholarships to help her succeed in her new position.
All scholarship funds are administered by the Clarion University Foundation, Inc. The Foundation, organized in 1969, is a not-for-profit corporation. The Foundation was formed to promote educational purposes in connection with or at the request of Clarion University. It is the organization designated to receive and manage private sector gifts provided for the support of the activities and programs of the university. Such gifts are generated through contributions from alumni, faculty and staff, business and industry, retired faculty members, and other friends of Clarion University.
"I'm coming into the Foundation at an exciting time. It is clear that the development team has built a strong base. I look forward to taking it to the next level," King said. "I definitely feel I'm home on the Clarion Campus. It's great being back."
Clarion University is the high-achieving, nationally recognized, comprehensive university that delivers a personal and challenging academic experience.