Lillian Jacoby is supporting the Western student experience

Lillian Jacoby (right) with her daughter, Vanessa, during a campus visit.

As a single mother, Lillian Jacoby was struggling to help her daughter pay for her Western education. However, Jacoby still found a way to support The Parents’ Fund at Western.

“I was just divorced and money was tight, and even though I paid for her tuition, there are other costs involved and I wanted to make sure my daughter had the best experience and received the best education,” says Jacoby, whose daughter Vanessa completed her Bachelor of Arts in 2009.“I have found the experience of being a parent with a daughter at a highly respected and recognized school very satisfying. The resources available to her are phenomenal.”

As a regular donor to The Parents’ Fund, Jacoby is just one Western parent helping to build the $4-million fund, which supports student scholarships, need-based bursaries, computer equipment, labs and library enhancements, and other areas on campus such as Mustang Athletics and Western Libraries.

Vanessa is the first in Jacoby’s family to attend university, and she is currently a master’s student in Sociology at Western. Now retired from her job as a Global Buyer for General Motors, Lillian says a good education is the key to success in today’s world. But she notes some students may not have the opportunity to attend university for financial reasons, or benefit from all Western has to offer if it wasn’t for the impact of donor support.

“The extras Western provides aren’t in the budget,” says Jacoby. “I feel parents and alumni need to support the school, even with a small amount, in order for the University to retain great professors and continue providing an exceptional quality of education and experience to its students.”


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