Alumnae team up to support, honor women in business through The OHIO Match

(From left) Monique (Means) McDonough, BBA and BSJ ’95, and Patty (Proebstle) Pae, BBA ’90, are pictured with Julie Green, executive director of New Futures, an organization that provides educational opportunities and pathways to financial stability to under-served young people in the Washington, D.C. region.

Patty (Proebstle) Pae, BBA ’90, and Monique (Means) McDonough, BBA and BSJ ’95, never crossed paths as Ohio University undergraduates. But the bonds these OHIO women formed as alumnae have resulted in a more than 20-year legacy of service to their alma mater and support for their fellow Bobcats, particularly young aspiring women leaders in the College of Business.

In 2015, these Bobcats teamed up to create the Patricia A. Pae ’90 and Monique Means McDonough ’95 Scholarship for Women Business Leaders, benefitting high-achieving College of Business undergraduates who demonstrate financial need. Their scholarship, designed to honor women in business but not restricted to female recipients, was established through The OHIO Match, an investment program through which Ohio University is providing $0.50 for every dollar committed to eligible undergraduate scholarship endowments.

McDonough knows firsthand the impact scholarships have in paving the way for student success. The summer of her junior year, McDonough’s family faced some financial distresses.

“I was doing all the right things,” McDonough said, noting her academic achievements, her involvement in student organizations, and even her first sales job, selling ads for The Post. “And, yet, finances were the thing that was going to hold me back from being successful and pursuing my dream. … It was a really tough moment, and I said, ‘I was lucky enough to be a recipient of scholarship funds that helped me get to college and get me through college. I absolutely want to be able to pay that forward.’”

For Pae, it was the opportunities she had as a student and the experiences she had as an alumna that instilled a desire to give back. After graduation, Pae served on the College of Business’ Society of Alumni and Friends Board of Directors and the National Alumni Board. She participated in and mentored students through the Schey Sales Centre. And she immersed herself in the Ohio University Women’s Club of Greater Cleveland, an alumnae group dedicated to funding student scholarships and forming OHIO connections.

“These women that were introduced to me really developed the framework and foundation of mentoring and the importance of not only giving back but giving back in recognition of women’s support and women’s initiatives,” Pae said.

Pae and McDonough met through their involvement in the College of Business Society of Alumni and Friends Board of Directors and the Schey Sales Centre. Today, they both serve on the ohiowomen Advisory Committee. Formerly known as Women in Philanthropy, ohiowomen is an initiative-turned-movement dedicated to engaging all OHIO women in the life of Ohio University.

“What is great about ohiowomen is that it isn’t just about financial contributions,” McDonough said. “It is about opportunities to lift up women professionally whether they are alumnae, students, faculty, staff or friends of the University and celebrate great accomplishments of women and create a network to support women in their pursuits.”

It’s that spirit that inspired Pae and McDonough to create the scholarship through The OHIO Match.

Alumna Patty Pae and student Claire Kirwen, a recipient of the Patricia A. Pae ’90 and Monique Means McDonough ’95 Scholarship for Women Business Leaders, pose for a photo during Ohio University’s 2018 Homecoming Weekend.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be in the position that I could contribute hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars, but once the match came up as an opportunity, I thought, what a very logical, comprehensive and affordable way of contributing and having something that’s going to be a legacy,” Pae said. “And so, of course, I called Monique.”

“Through the match and our gifts to the University, we could make an even more powerful, more impactful scholarship because we had the same aims in mind,” McDonough added. “Instead of having two different but parallel scholarships, we said, if we team up, we could make such a difference with more funds for the same purpose. … That just feels very much like the Ohio University spirit.”

Pae and McDonough both noted that The OHIO Match not only provided them a financial pathway to create an endowed scholarship that aligned with their philanthropic interests but also a long-term investment strategy that they and others can support in the years to come.

“It’s not just about the action of the match,” McDonough said. “It’s about the longer term honing of our gift that will get us to an even bigger impact with more dollars that could one day be a fully-funded scholarship.”

Since the Patricia A. Pae ’90 and Monique Means McDonough ’95 Scholarship for Women Business Leaders was created, two OHIO students have benefitted from these alumnae’s generosity.

The most-recent recipient is Claire Kirwen, a senior majoring in management and strategic leadership and business analytics while pursuing a certificate in human resources. Kirwen is the senior class representative for the College of Business Honors Program; a member of Enactus, a student organization dedicated to improving lives and communities through social entrepreneurship and innovation; and a venture development assistant for TechGROWTH Ohio, an entrepreneurship program serving 20 counties in Southeastern Ohio.

An undergraduate excelling inside and outside the classroom, Kirwen has earned several scholarships, but the one she received thanks to Pae and McDonough is particularly meaningful.

“Besides the money I received from the scholarship, the title attached to it, ‘women business leaders,’ meant a great deal to me,” Kirwen said, noting that this scholarship helps to fully cover her tuition with funds left over for rent and books. “That was a big burden lifted off of my shoulders, especially because I pay for a substantial portion of my own college.”

As she drafted thank-you letters to Pae and McDonough, Kirwen looked them up on LinkedIn, discovering that Pae is the global sales manager at New York City’s Egencia, an Expedia company, and McDonough is the managing vice president of Gartner in Washington, D.C., one of the world’s leading research and advisory companies.

“It took me aback,” Kirwen said. “It’s crazy to have both of these women who are so successful see potential in me.”

Pae and McDonough’s generosity extends beyond financial assistance.

Pae referred Kirwen to a friend who is a human resources manager for assistance in her job search. And, this past fall, Pae and Kirwen met one another during OHIO’s Homecoming weekend.

“To be able to make that connection and to really feel supported by alumnae was incredibly meaningful to me,” Kirwen said.

“I think the purpose behind the scholarship is about showing talented young women that people believe in them and they want them to be successful, and we want to help open up opportunities,” McDonough said.

“And,” Pae added, “planting the seed in how they can build their journey of paying it forward and giving back, not necessarily financially but just as part of their DNA and their makeup.”

The OHIO Match ends June 30, 2019, and was recently expanded to include OHIO’s regional campuses and donor-specified programs. For more information, click here or call 740-592-3863.