{"id":41691,"date":"2016-07-07T09:02:53","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T13:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=41691"},"modified":"2024-07-29T11:48:48","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T15:48:48","slug":"a-wonderful-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2016\/07\/07\/a-wonderful-life\/","title":{"rendered":"A wonderful life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ron<\/a>

Ron and Joan Amos started a scholarship to provide assistance to Wright State students who are working their way through college. (Photo by Chris Snyder)<\/p><\/div>\n

For Ron Amos, Wright State University reminds him of the 1946 Frank Capra classic, “It\u2019s a Wonderful Life.”<\/p>\n

Just as Jimmy Stewart\u2019s iconic character, George Bailey, finds out what life would have been like had he never been born, Ron has often wondered what his life would be like had there never been a Wright State.<\/p>\n

As one of seven children and a first-generation college student, Ron felt like he had few options for college. It wasn\u2019t until a high school guidance counselor told him about Wright State that he realized there was an affordable choice close to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI may have never gone to college had there not been a Wright State,\u201d said Ron.<\/p>\n

Like many Wright State students of yesterday and today, Ron paid for his own college education by working his way through school. He even managed to graduate without any debt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWright State is perfect for someone if you\u2019re willing to work hard,\u201d said Ron. \u201cBut if you\u2019re not willing to work hard, don\u2019t go to Wright State.\u201d<\/p>\n

Always by Ron\u2019s side during his Wright State days was the love of his life, Joan. The couple first met while ice skating at Hara Arena in 1970, when they were both 15 years old. They have been together ever since.<\/p>\n

Joan would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning, typing Ron\u2019s papers as he worked on his finance degree<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to go to college, but I felt at that time that I should work and save that money for us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Joan and Ron married on June 19, 1976, just three days after Ron\u2019s graduation from Wright State. That same week, Ron also started a new job.<\/p>\n

For someone who always had an interest in money and economics, a career in banking ended up being the perfect fit for Ron. As a young boy, he had his own newspaper route and knew exactly how much money he had at any given moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is really about what you can do with this commodity called money \u2014 how money can be used as a tool to fulfill the dreams of families, businesses and the community,\u201d said Ron.<\/p>\n

Through his work as market president for U.S. Bank, Ron visits many corporations in the Dayton region.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty, 30 years ago, Wright State graduates were lower to middle management,\u201d he recalled. \u201cFast forward to the 1990s, the 2000s and today \u2014 it\u2019s the Wright State graduates who are running these companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ron returned to Wright State in the early 1980s to begin working on his master\u2019s degree. In many ways, it was a similar experience to his days as an undergraduate as he once again juggled the responsibilities of school and work. Ron earned his MBA<\/a> in 1984.<\/p>\n

He would come back to his alma mater years later to serve on the board of the Wright State Alumni Association, including a term as president. During his tenure as Alumni Association president, Ron also joined the board of trustees for the Wright State University Foundation. He has served on the foundation board since 2002, including two years as chair.<\/p>\n

Ron also chaired the alumni phase for the university\u2019s first campaign, Tomorrow Takes Flight. He and Joan both currently serve on the campaign cabinet for Rise. Shine. The Campaign for Wright State University<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been like a family,\u201d Joan said of her experience on the campaign cabinet. \u201cThey\u2019re so embracing, and they want to know how you feel. They want your input. It just feels like a second family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoan\u2019s been able to see what I\u2019ve seen for decades \u2014 to see what this university does for people\u2019s lives,\u201d said Ron.<\/p>\n

Along with donating their time to the Rise. Shine. campaign, Ron and Joan have established their own scholarship fund. The Ron and Joan Amos Family Scholarship was created to help students in similar circumstances to what Ron experienced as a Wright State student.<\/p>\n

The scholarship is geared toward the Wright State student who doesn\u2019t have a 4.0 GPA and is working their way through school.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetween school and work, they\u2019re probably putting in an 80-hour week,\u201d said Ron. \u201cThey\u2019re working a lot harder and with much more effort than the typical student.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ron and Joan hope their scholarship will help students stay in school who might otherwise have to drop out because of financial challenges. The scholarship also fulfills the couple\u2019s passion for education and giving back to the community.<\/p>\n

Before her recent retirement, Joan worked in early childhood education at a Dayton-area preschool for almost 15 years. She still returns to the school once a month to volunteer. She believes that a child\u2019s life will be forever changed if a love for learning can be instilled at an early age.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just amazing how 4- and 5-year-olds are like little sponges,\u201d said Joan. \u201cThey just absorb so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, Ron and Joan have volunteered for and supported many organizations in the community, including Dayton Children\u2019s, United Way and the American Heart Association.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many organizations that we feel close to in the Dayton area,\u201d said Ron. \u201cWe believe in their missions and the impact they have on people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ron tells his younger colleagues that the great surprise in his life has been the joy he\u2019s received from becoming engaged in the community and making lifelong friendships with the staff and other board members of organizations like Wright State.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur lives have been greatly enriched by our involvement,\u201d said Ron. \u201cWe have received far more than what we\u2019ve given.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of that gratitude and appreciation is directed at Wright State.<\/p>\n

\u201cWright State is part of our family,\u201d said Joan. \u201cWe feel so connected with them and just feel so much at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo hear the students speak and talk about what drove them to Wright State and how it\u2019s impacting their lives makes you want to do more,\u201d she added. \u201cIf you can help one student, Wright State would be the place to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to Ron and Joan Amos, future generations of Wright State students will have the opportunity to create their own wonderful lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ron and Joan Amos Family Scholarship provides assistance to students who are working their way through college. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":41695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4299,748,4906,2040,2060,725,2050,715],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-alumni-profile","category-business","category-finance-accountancy-management-information-systems-and-economics","category-giving","category-graduate","category-home-news-sidebar","category-mba","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41691"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41698,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41691\/revisions\/41698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}