Archive for the ‘Kerber, Keith C.’ Category

by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director Annual Giving

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all throughout Thunderbird,
Not a student could be seen nor a professor be heard. 
To the ends of the earth they all went in a flash,
No hesitation with three weeks sans class. 

Why bother reading for the semester ahead?
While visions of distant lands danced in their heads.
Why should they spend the time studying in the IBIC,
When diverse and wild cultures await their first visit.

Now Melinda, now Alan, now Arvind and Jenny!
Go Marie, go Gonzalo, go Jaseem, and Haley
To Kilamanjaro, to Machu Picchu, or to the Great Wall,
Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!

Practice those languages and cross-cultural skills,
You’ll put them to use for business or thrills. 
See you next semester; we trust you’ll return.
For without you, there’d be no Thunderbird.

But don’t stay here forever ‘cause we’d rather you go,
Creating prosperity all over the globe.
You’re all so amazing, there’s no doubt about that
The world needs more T-birds and I’ll drink to that!

In addition to a drink I’m giving a gift to ensure the world has more Thunderbirds? Will you give a gift today? Thank you.

by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Do you ever arrive at your workspace with a necessary task to do and think to yourself, “I really don’t want to do this today.”?  Maybe it’s one of those tasks you just don’t want to do.  Period!  I enjoy working at Thunderbird and I love all that it is doing and all that it stands for however, I have those moments.  In fact, if I’m honest, I have them weekly.

That’s when I look at the number of Yes’s on the wall of my cube and I tell myself, “They all said yes, so Kerber, you can do this.”  Then I get back to work.

This week’s number is 4,499.  In the 09-10 fiscal year 4,499 T-bird alumni have said yes to Thunderbird with a financial contribution.  Wow!  4,499 people gave so this organization can inspire and equip more than 1,200 students with the business and management skills they need to create prosperity all over the world!

It may be a little corny but I imagine the crowd of 4,499 alumni donors out in front of my office building cheering for Thunderbird.  Each of them saying yes to the work I do – no, not the specific tasks assigned to my role – but to the overall work of Thunderbird.

And I wonder, “do those 4,499 alumni know how inspired I am by their gift?”

So if you are one of those 4,499 T-birds, know that you made my day!  Thank you.

Your gift will do far more than just make my day.  Discover how at www.thunderbird.edu/giving

by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

That’s what the alumnus living in South Korea told Barsha, one of our Student Campaign Ambassadors (SCAs) who hails from Nepal. It had been 5 years since he had heard from anyone at Thunderbird. Within a few minutes, Barsha had updated the email and residential address of this long lost alumnus. Soon he will receive the Thunderbird magazine and the monthly alumni newsletter and be back in touch with Thunderbird. 

Last Tuesday night, a dozen of our SCAs gathered for a late night calling session so that we could reach our alumni throughout Asia. It was a great time from 8 pm until midnight. At one point I heard Hindi, English, Japanese and Chinese all being spoken simultaneously! 

It was a win-win-win: Alumni had the opportunity to speak with current students and learn about Thunderbird, students got to learn about Asian alumni and companies, and we raised more than $5,000 for Thunderbird. We look forward to another late night session in coming weeks.

by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

I always love to watch the opening of the Olympic Games. It is such a picture of what I’d like the world to be: joyfully and harmoniously celebrating the diversity of cultures around the globe. Save for the unfortunate death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympics last Friday was no different.   

Seeing these Olympic ceremonies, I was reminded of my first few days at Thunderbird in Fall 2008.  I was describing the scene at the dining hall to my daughter:  I overheard German spoken over here, Hindi over there, Chinese there, Spanish here. And there were people from dozens of nations working together on group projects or in dialogue. Not something one sees in Phoenix everyday!
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by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

As I walked across the Thunderbird campus, the cool breezes carried the scent of fresh cut pine…not something I normally smell on the campus.  I looked into the wind and discerned the scent to be coming from the Tower building.

In the last 36 hours, the campus (and most of Arizona) was drenched with more than an inch of rain and everything is soaked.  Apparently the Tower’s exposed rafters and studs, now swelling from the rain, were the source of the aroma as the wind blew over the structure.

So I stopped for a moment and looked more closely at its bare roof and skeletal interior.  Although it is quite barren now, with admiration for all it has stood for, I imagined how stately it would be when complete. 
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by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

The turn of a new year always brings about new predictions.  And with the turn of a new decade, there are myriad predictions out there for everything.  The pundits are not afraid to make predictions about the economy that range from doom and gloom to full recovery.

Most of us likely believe that in 2010, the global economy will recover to a point somewhere in between those two extremes.  Whatever the case, there will be plenty of opportunities to prosper for those who look for them and work for them.

Thunderbird, via its alumni, will no doubt play a role in the global economic recovery.  These alumni are adventurous business people, unafraid to try new ideas.  They work tenaciously to find solutions that make processes more efficient and productive.  Therefore, I predict…drum roll, please….that T-birds will make a positive difference in global economic recovery this year and this decade!

Hippocrates said, “Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.”  I look forward to hearing from T-birds about the opportunities they discover and create while the global economy heals from the wounds of irresponsible management.

Wishing all T-birds a happy, successful, and prosperous new year!

If you’d like to contribute to Thunderbird’s efforts to heal the global  economy by educating global leaders, please give a gift here.

by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all throughout Thunderbird,
Not a student could be seen nor a professor be heard. 
To the ends of the earth they all went in a flash,
No hesitation with three weeks sans class. 

Why bother reading for semester ahead?
While visions of faraway lands danced in their heads.
Why should they spend the time studying in the IBIC,
When diverse and wild cultures await their first visit.

Now Tammy, now Matt, now Nilufar and John!
Go Amit, go Tekena, go Hieu and Karan.
To Kilamanjaro, to Machu Picchu, or to the Great Wall,
Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!

Practice those languages and cross-cultural skills,
You’ll put them to use for business and school. 
We’ll see you next semester; we trust you’ll return.
Because without you, there would be no Thunderbird.

But don’t stay here forever because we’d rather you go,
Create prosperity all over the globe.
T-birds are all so amazing, there’s no doubt about that
The world needs more Thunderbirds and I’ll drink to that!

In addition to a drink I’m giving a gift to ensure the world has more Thunderbirds? Will you give a gift today? Thank you.

DISCLAIMER: Mr. Kerber claims no poetic brillance.  He states that the inspiration for this blog had a lot to do with three things: 1) Hearing about the anticipated adventures amongst T-bird students; 2) recently listening to his children read two famous Christmas poems: Clement Clarke Moore’s, “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” and Dr. Seuss’, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas;” and 3) too much holiday cheer (aka spiked egg nog).  But mostly, he says, it has to to with the latter.

by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

The end of my freshman year was coming to a close and so were my dreams to be the first in my family to attend college.  I had already incurred debt of $5,000 in order to attend a private college and just didn’t see how I could afford another year.

A discouraging visit with the Financial Aid officer added to the stress of final exams.  However, a few days later, I returned to her office and she asked if a $3000 grant would allow me to manage the following year.

“Could I ever!” I thought.   She then told me about an alumnus who wanted to give that amount of money to someone exactly in my position: first in family to attend college, working to support himself, involved in the school community, and decent grades, of course.
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by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

“Are you crazy?  Who will they call at 1:00 in the morning?  Never heard of that one before.”  These were the most common responses from my fundraising colleagues when I asked them for any thoughts on how to manage a 24-hour all-volunteer phonathon.  A month after I came on board the Thunderbird Advancement team - my first full time fundraising job -  I was tasked with managing such an event.  Without one colleague to confirm that it had ever been done before, I began to wonder if we were crazy.

I have since learned that no idea is too crazy for Thunderbirds.  I had the privilege to work with 3 tenacious Tbirds* and together we pulled off a successful 24-hour phonathon.  These students were passionate about one particular thing: The most iconic and storied building on campus, the Tower, was closed due to loss of structural integrity and these students wanted to see it restored.
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by Keith Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Now that I have small children, I am experiencing anew some holiday traditions that I remember from my childhood.  I still enjoy watching the Charlie Brown (Peanuts) holiday specials.  Just last week I had the pleasure of listening to my children laugh at “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.”  A particular exchange between Linus and Charlie Brown highlights one of the best characteristics of children; the ability to believe wholeheartedly in something others may think to be ridiculous.

Charlie Brown:  I suppose you spent all night in the pumpkin patch.  And the Great Pumpkin never showed up?
Linus:  Nope.
Charlie Brown:  Well, don’t take it too hard, Linus.  I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life, too.
Linus [furious]:  STUPID?  What do you mean “stupid”?  Just wait ’til next year, Charlie Brown.  You’ll see!  Next year at this same time, I’ll find the pumpkin patch that is real sincere and I’ll sit in that pumpkin patch until the Great Pumpkin appears.  The Great Pumpkin will appear and I’ll be waiting for him!  I’ll be there!  Just wait and see, Charlie Brown.  I’ll SEE the Great Pumpkin!
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