200 Days in the Life of the College
Friday, October 8
An alumnus who pays it forward
By Nick Stagliano ’11
Fallcoming Weekend is getting under way when Jack Withiam ’71, a generous scholarship donor, and Daniel Coulter ’13, a grateful scholarship recipient, meet for the first time. “I wouldn’t be able to be at Hamilton without this scholarship,” Coulter, an economics and mathematics major from East Aurora, N.Y., tells Withiam. “Thank you.”
The scholarship Withiam endowed, the Jack and Lynda A. Withiam Scholarship, is awarded each year to a student from or near Withiam’s hometown of Horseheads, N.Y. “It’s a small, quiet town, but there are great kids there too,” Withiam says.
Reflecting on the reasons he supports student scholarships at the College, Withiam explains, “I came to Hamilton because of a benefactor whom I didn’t know.” So when Withiam himself, now a charter trustee, reached a position to help others, “it was a very easy, natural connection to make.”
“Many of my closest friends are people I met during my time at Hamilton, including a classmate and fraternity brother with whom I’ve been in business for 30 years,” Withiam continues, referring to Board of Trustees Vice Chair George F. “Jeff” Little II ’71. “When you go to Hamilton, it’s like you’re being inducted into a cult — or a big family.”
Coulter, who is a goalie on the men’s soccer team and a member of the track team, echoes Withiam’s sentiments, “What I love about Hamilton is the community, that everyone knows each other.”
Having finally met face-to-face, Withiam and Coulter walk together to the Helen and Doane Comstock ’27 Memorial Luncheon, held every Fallcoming to celebrate student scholarships — and new family.
