A scholarship and a love for mathematics first brought alumna Jan Green to UNC Asheville in 1968. During her time at the University, she learned the skills that led her to a successful career as a teacher, as a consultant with her husband in their own firm, and later with IBM. She also learned the importance of balancing her academic pursuits with life outside the classroom. She’s hoping the creation of two new scholarships will help other students do the same.
“I want to give back to the people who really put me on my path,” Green explained. “They did so much for me. I wanted to do something for them.”
Green’s donation will establish two new funds at UNC Asheville. The Jan Green Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships to math majors with financial need, and the Jan Green and Kathy Green Drake Endowed Fund, named after herself and her sister, also a UNC Asheville alumna, will provide funding to the UNC Asheville cheer and dance team.
Green and Drake remember their time together on the cheer team fondly, as well as various fundraising activities to buy uniforms and travel with the basketball team to away games. She hopes her donation will serve to help students make the most of their time in athletics and in the classroom, without having to worry about how they’ll pay for it.
“If they're not able to financially afford the many things they need for college, I hope it gives them some relief, and that it also gives them a chance to feel a little bit easier about everything,” Green said. “And I hope they'll end up majoring in math!”
Green said she never forgot the support she received from her math professors, even after she had graduated and had moved on to graduate school.
“UNC Asheville played a significant role in helping me achieve where I wanted to be,” Green said. “It just did so much for me when I was here; not only just the friendships but also in terms of teaching me how to be a good person and interact with people, and how to learn and be open to learning different things. It’s always stayed with me.”
Green has seen a lot of changes occur since her time as a student at UNC Asheville, which was still called Asheville Biltmore College when she first enrolled. But the important things, she said, have remained the same.
“Even though the university is larger now, I’m glad it still has that small-school feel, in terms of professors really getting to know you versus your just being a body in the room,” Green said. “That made a world of difference for me–the professors really knowing me and getting to know them.”
Her advice to students now is the same, as well.
“Study hard, but have a good time. You need to enjoy your college experience as well as get a good education out of it.”
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