Photo courtesy of Debbie Lane.

Giving

Debbie Lane: Standing Up for Children

After growing up in a small town in Michigan, Debbie Lane (’78) was ready for a change of scenery. At 18, she moved to Boston to enroll in BU Wheelock (then Wheelock College) and study early childhood education.

“It was my first time living in a big city, so I was wide-eyed,” says Lane, who remembers the excitement of navigating Boston’s public transportation system, cheering on the Red Sox at Fenway Park, and splitting a cake from the Ice Cream Factory with her dorm-room friends.

But it was her program in BU Wheelock that left the biggest impression on her. Lane loved the small classes, attentive faculty members, and practicums with young children. “I found joy in watching the magic that surrounds children,” she says.

The Early Childhood Education and Teaching program also brought her attention to issues of access and equity in education. “My time at Wheelock opened my eyes to many of the injustices in our country,” she says. “I believe education is important and, unfortunately, the public school system is far from equal in the types of education they can provide for children.”

To help address those issues and support next-generation educators, Lane made a generous gift in March 2025 to establish the Alchemy Graduate Scholarship Fund at BU Wheelock. The fund will provide scholarships to BU Wheelock students, especially those who are first in their family to go to college.

“I hope that the students who receive the scholarships over the years will be able to help improve education for all children,” says Lane. “It takes a brave person to take a stand for children.”