Couple Provide Scholarships, Friendship, Encouragement to UConn Students

Alumnus Rich Eldh ’81 and wife Joyce Eldh will fund scholarships this year that will enable 13 students from Bridgeport to attend UConn. The couple will cover all tuition, not funded by scholarships or grants, as well as room, board, and spending money.

But beyond their financial gift, the Westport, Conn., couple is tremendously invested in those students’ careers and wellbeing.

They’ve taken their student-scholars bowling and out to lunch, invited them to be their guests at the School of Business’ Hall of Fame dinner while encouraging them to network with some powerful alumni, helped them with their LinkedIn profiles and thank-you notes—and even offered advice on what necktie would look best for a job interview.

Supporting Smart, Driven Students

Several years ago, Rich, the founder of SiriusDecisions Inc., a global B2B research and advisory firm, and Joyce, a high-school internship director, became involved with Connect-Us. The Bridgeport, Conn. organization, led by Founder and Executive Director Pam Lewis and Director of Finance and Operations Pam Hafer, teaches young adults the skills needed to thrive in business and in life.

The Eldhs were impressed by the students they met.

“We met these great Bridgeport students who were smart, engaged, and driven,” Rich said. “They were looking for ways to augment their personal development beyond high school.”

That is when they decided to set up the Eldh Family Scholarship Fund through the UConn Foundation, to allow these students to further their academic studies and have a complete college experience. Those who graduate from Connect-Us are eligible to apply for the Eldh scholarship at UConn. Some students are studying in Storrs and others are in Stamford.

All seemed to be going well, until the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We started to observe that the students were struggling with grades, fear, isolation, anxiety, and they were beginning to get disillusioned,” Joyce said. Some students didn’t seem to be aware of or were unwilling to access any campus resources that could have helped assuage these strains and challenges. Others grappled to find friend groups or their purpose, and some worried about supporting their families back home.

“We felt more guidance and assistance would be necessary,” she said. “Rich and I agreed, ‘We can and should try and do more for these young adults.’”

The couple have made the effort to meet leadership experts at UConn to familiarize themselves with the academic and student-support systems that exist at the university, as another way to guide their mentees.

Building Confidence and Reassurance

Through Connect-Us, the Eldhs met student Tageria Davis, about seven years ago.

Davis is now a UConn senior majoring in computer science. She is planning a career in software engineering or project management. Last summer, she interned as a software engineer at Kohl’s corporate office in Milwaukee on the core-platform team responsible for managing the retailer’s Kubernetes clusters (computing nodes, or worker machines, that run containerized applications.) Arriving in Milwaukee, she didn’t know a soul, and the Eldhs were able to introduce her to a friend’s niece who works in the complex.

The Kohl’s job, coming on the heels of a rotational program she completed at Bridgewater Associates, was a great experience. “It was definitely challenging, but that made it rewarding. I discovered more about myself and explored a new side of software engineering,” Davis said.

She is appreciative of the help that the Eldhs gave her in charting her career path.

“Rich and Joyce provided me with the kind of confidence and reassurance I wanted about the decisions I was making, both academically and for my career. They are very approachable and I could ask them, ‘Am I thinking about the right things?’” Davis said. “They have invested so much into my goals, and I like to demonstrate that I’m making the most of new opportunities.”

“To me, Rich and Joyce live their values. That’s rare. They want to see us all succeed,” Davis said. “I’d like to do the same thing some day for other students. I view the Eldhs as my mentors and I want to keep them in my life long after I graduate from UConn.”

Watching Students Soar is the Reward

Rich has been involved in the School of Business through its Dean’s Advisory Cabinet, guest-teaching classes, and mentoring the student-run Hillside Ventures program. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the UConn Foundation and has been inducted into the School of Business Hall of Fame.

The Eldhs shared their story in hopes that other alumni would consider a similar type of outreach. Without spending time with students, and developing those friendships, they said they would have been unlikely to know the variety of concerns and challenges that students face.

“We try to offer them guidance, help, and the recognition that they’re not in the professional world alone,” Rich said. “One of the big hurdles is that many students today are reluctant to ask for help and feel they should be able to accomplish big things on their own. We have all received help from those around us in our daily lives and our careers.”

“When the students participate in the Business School Hall of Fame dinner, they are meeting UConn alumni and staff members. They have to get out of their comfort zone by asking questions and making conversation,” he said. “You can watch them slowly gain confidence and start to open up. Each year we ask them if they’d like to attend the dinner and they enthusiastically say yes. This year we watched them take the initiative to go up to people and make their own introductions. Networking is a career-building skill and they are learning it quickly.”

Joyce agreed, adding that she’s seen a dramatic change in the students’ self-assurance, poise, and self-worth and knows that it will continue.

“Students today seem so much smarter than in the past. They are so well informed and brilliant with technology,” he said. “UConn graduates can compete with any graduates from any top university in the country. You just have to come and meet them to know that’s a fact.”

To learn more about supporting a UConn student, please contact Megan Panek, Senior Director of Development, at MPanek@foundation.uconn.edu