{"id":27139,"date":"2025-08-13T08:40:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T12:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/?p=27139"},"modified":"2025-08-13T10:04:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T14:04:03","slug":"blog-game-changing-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/2025\/08\/13\/blog-game-changing-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"Game-changing gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rachel Farrell | Published August 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

When donors support BU club sports, they don\u2019t just allow students to play a sport they love. As Graeme Jackson (Questrom\u201927) explains in this interview, belonging to a club sports team\u2014Men\u2019s Water Polo\u2014has helped him feel at home at BU, even while living 3,000 miles from the city where he grew up. He couldn\u2019t be more appreciative of the BU alumni and friends who have made that possible.<\/p>\n

Why did you choose BU?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\" A couple of reasons. Although I was born and raised in Los Angeles, my mom’s family is from Maine, and we spent our summers there and in Boston when I was growing up. So, even though I’m not a New England local, I feel a sense of community here. I absolutely love the Northeast.<\/p>\n

My dad\u2019s also a professor at BU; he\u2019s been teaching screenwriting in the College of Communication since I was a sophomore in high school. I remember touring BU with him when I was starting my college search. That really opened my eyes to the amazing opportunities here. The Questrom School of Business was especially appealing because of its CORE courses, which allow you to build your own company for a semester. BU also has a great community, especially through the alumni network.<\/p>\n

Have you used the alumni network yet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s been huge. I\u2019ve had about 50 coffee chats with BU alumni I\u2019ve found through Questrom, water polo, and my fraternity. As a business-focused person, it\u2019s been a great way to figure out what I want to do with my life and explore internships and post-grad opportunities.<\/p>\n

How would you describe your BU experience so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s been amazing. The classes I’ve taken have been exactly what I hoped for.\u202fThe best part about BU is you get out of it what you put into it. There are a million opportunities to join clubs or groups, and the more you get involved, the more you see how everything and everyone is connected. So, for example, I might find that a friend from club sports is friends with someone from the BU Consulting Group.<\/p>\n

Why did you join the Men\u2019s Water Polo team?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"I\u2019ve played water polo all my life. I thought about playing it at a varsity level in college, but I wanted to go to BU more than I wanted to do that. Luckily, at BU, I\u2019ve found an ultra-competitive club sports team that really feels like a varsity team. We just won the New England Championship and went to Nationals, where we placed 4th in the country. It’s been an amazing experience\u2014something I wasn’t really expecting when joining a club sport.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best part of being on the team?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Continuing to play the sport I love is the most important part for me. Water polo is something I want to do every day. Outside of that, being part of the team makes me feel like I have a community on campus. I can\u2019t get to class without seeing at least one of my teammates and saying hi. So, even though BU is a huge university, I never feel like I\u2019m a fish in the sea.<\/p>\n

On this year\u2019s Giving Day, Men\u2019s Water Polo raised more than $3,000 from donors. What do those funds mean for the team?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They\u2019ve had an unbelievable impact. Earlier this morning, we had our end-of-year meeting with our club sports advisor and reviewed our budget. I saw that it really would not be possible to have this team without the amazing donations from alumni. Their gifts pay for things like lifeguards and tournament costs, and they lower our dues, which makes the team accessible to everyone.<\/p>\n

Do you know what you\u2019d like to do after graduation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to focus on finance or strategy. Investment banking is super appealing to me. But ultimately, I want to do something entrepreneurial. I\u2019d like to start my own company one day.<\/p>\n

Have your conversations with alumni helped narrow your career focus?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One hundred percent. They\u2019ve helped me figure out what I should concentrate on and the classes I should take. I\u2019m still deciding whether to pursue management consulting or investment banking, and thankfully I\u2019ve been able to talk to alumni from both industries to get their advice. So that\u2019s been huge.<\/p>\n

Do you feel like BU is preparing you for those different paths?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely. Most of my classes are focused on real-life skills. My professors are always saying, \u201cHave this down\u2014not just for the exam, but because you\u2019re going to use this every day if you go into this career.\u201d<\/p>\n

What would you like to say to the donors who have supported Men’s Water Polo?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just a huge, huge thank you. Water polo has given me and my teammates the ability to have an amazing experience at BU. We appreciate it so much.<\/p>\n

Anything else you\u2019d like to add?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In April, more than 50 alumni came to the Austin Brashears\u2019 Memorial Alumni Tournament that we hosted. We played water polo all day and then had a reception afterward to raise money for a BU scholarship in Austin\u2019s name. It was just amazing to see that alumni are still so involved in BU\u2014even five, 10, or 15 years after graduating.<\/p>\n

\n

 
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

1839 Society<\/strong> donors make a powerful impact on BU students\u2014providing opportunities, resources, and support that change lives. Join the 1839 Society today<\/a> with your gift of $1,000 or more, and choose to take a lead role in shaping BU\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Editor\u2019s note: Interview has been edited for length and clarity. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interview with Graeme Jackson (Questrom\u201927)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16028,"featured_media":27143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[37,4,35,1],"tags":[1279,1373],"featured_img":"\/alumni\/files\/2025\/08\/G-Jackson-2-of-2-800x590.jpg","agg_excerpt":"An interview with Graeme Jackson (Questrom\u201927)","agg_title":"Game-changing gifts","media_icon":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27139"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27139"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27174,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27139\/revisions\/27174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}