Growth through giving
Julia Morris has a smile that radiates to everyone she meets. After graduating in May 2022, Morris knew she wanted to retain her close connection to UD and found she could do that best through her commitment and passion for philanthropy.
“I feel like giving has always been ingrained in me,” Morris shared with another smile.
Her path to giving back started young; she often volunteered with friends after church as a teenager, but Morris believes UD was able to accelerate her passion, specifically in her academics at a time when she needed it most.
Morris took a sport management class on sales and fundraising right after her good friend and fellow UD student Jill Parker, a senior studying visual arts, died unexpectedly in 2020. The class became a way for Morris to honor her friend in an exceptional way.
“In class, we had a philanthropy tournament and got to pick a charity of our choice [and explain] why what we were fundraising for was so important,” Morris shared as she started to tear up. “I was able to give money back to a charity that Jill was involved with in Michigan. I got to honor her legacy through philanthropy, which meant a lot to me … she was a very integral part of the UD community.”
Peter Titlebaum, professor of health and sport science and instructor for the class, became a mentor to Morris.
“He gave me those opportunities in and outside the classroom, and he taught me skills in the curriculum that have paved the way for me early in my career,” she said.
Morris’ growing passion for philanthropy led her to become a member of UD’s Front Porch Society, achieved by donating to UD three or more fiscal years in a row. Morris began by donating as a student to the Gary Mioli Leadership in Community Fund, the fund that supports the student philanthropy tournament. Family, friends and students established the fund in 2016 to honor the legacy of Gary Mioli ’79, who dedicated his professional life to leading young people on and off the football field as a teacher and coach in Park Ridge, New Jersey. Mioli died in 2014 at 57.
Since her initial gift to the Mioli Fund, Morris has kept giving, and she became a Front Porch Society member during her first year after graduating.
“There are so many different opportunities at Dayton … there are different ways to get involved and give back while you’re a college student,” she said, “and I definitely encourage anyone to get involved.”
Read about the 2023 Mioli Fund class winner, Lucy Wheeland, and her presentation to support the Center for Adoption Support and Education here.