Parents and Grandparents Fund
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Parents Committed to Paying It Forward
Vicki and Fabrice Vasques, and their daughter, Alex ’18, support Dartmouth in myriad ways, through volunteering and philanthropy—including a bequest intention
Planned gifts are an emphatic expression of support for Dartmouth’s mission and an important part of The Call to Lead campaign. Vicki and Fabrice Vasques P’18 are so grateful for their daughter’s Dartmouth experience that they’ve made a bequest intention to help generations of future undergraduates.
When Vicki and Fabrice Vasques met with the Family Giving staff at Dartmouth, they had been active in annual giving, both strong supporters and volunteers for the Parents and Grandparents Fund.
“Our daughter was having an outstanding experience at Dartmouth,” says Vicki. “We felt it was time to do something more substantial, to make a difference for students for generations to come.” So, with the assistance of Gift Planning and Family Giving, she and Fabrice made a bequest directed at both unrestricted support and educational enrichment, which assists with supplemental costs for students such as emergency travel and basic supplies.
Part Diegueño of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, Vicki has been an advocate for Native Americans for more than 30 years, leading education reform and overseeing health and wellness projects. She served in the Bush administration as deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Indian Education.
She is now president and CEO of Tribal Tech, a consulting company providing technical services to tribal, federal, state, and private sector entities.
“One of the most remarkable things is that I have recruited Dartmouth students, including some Native American students, to intern at Tribal Tech. Keeping that connection with the Dartmouth community and providing hands-on experience for students is exciting,” says Vicki.
Creating a foundation to advance their giving
In 2016, she created the RMP Foundation, which supports the education, health, and wellness of all people, especially Native American communities. The foundation was named in honor of Vicki’s father, and Alex serves as one of the trustees. In 2019, the family awarded a significant grant, through the foundation, to support Dartmouth’s Native American Program. Both Vicki and Alex have been impressed with the breadth of the program, and Alex served on the orientation team of Native Americans at Dartmouth.
“I chose to attend Dartmouth because I was looking for a college in a small town, not a large city,” says Alex, who grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. Dartmouth’s engineering program, strong academic reputation, and small class sizes made it a “perfect fit,” she adds. “The best part was coming to visit during a Homecoming Weekend. The sense of camaraderie sealed it for me.”
An engineering major, with a minor in Chinese, one of her most memorable experiences was taking a public speaking course. “It was a small class, so I got to know my classmates really well,” says Alex. “You learn so much about people, about the art of persuasion and the art of listening. My instructor, Svetlana Grushina, became a powerful mentor and I ended up going far with public speaking.”
Alex became her mentor’s teaching assistant and served as a Social Impact Learning Fellow for Grushina’s public speaking class. In this role, she worked on a project that supported local charities.
Bringing the Dartmouth experience to others
“Because Dartmouth has given Alex such a rich experience, we feel it’s so important to pay it forward, especially through our bequest,” says Vicki. “I’ve always believed in giving back to your community, giving back to your school, giving back to those who got you where you are. Dartmouth really shaped our daughter for who she is, and we’re very grateful.”
“Dartmouth means a lot to me,” says Alex. “It helped broaden a sense of my own self and inspired me to support the Dartmouth College Fund. It’s crucial to help bring this experience to future students.”
To learn more about gift planning at Dartmouth, please email gift.planning@dartmouth.edu or call 800-451-4067. For information about the Parents and Grandparents Fund, please email family.giving@dartmouth.eduor call 800-228-1769.