Ensuring a Lafayette future, well into the future

By Margaret Wilson

Tony ’84 and Meg Watters ’84 Rodriguez

Tony ’84 and Meg Watters ’84 Rodriguez haven’t stopped giving back to Lafayette from the moment they graduated.

The economics majors, who met at Lafayette and married shortly after, never saw graduation as the end of their association with the College. Meg immediately became an alumni admissions representative in her home state of New Jersey, a position that she continued to fill when their family moved to Edina, Minnesota, where they now reside.

“I viewed Lafayette as a great experience. I was so happy there,” Meg says. “I wanted everyone to love it as much as I did, and I felt like [volunteering] was a way I could give back to the College, especially as a young alumnus.”

Their involvement with the College hasn’t stopped since. Today, Tony serves on the College Board of Trustees, while Meg has served on the Lafayette Mid and Intermountain West Advisory Council for over 10 years, including as chair. Despite their prodigious charitable efforts—Meg co-founded the nonprofit Edina Give and Go, which provides small grants to public school students in the Edina area to cover arts, academics, or athletic fees, as well as serves on the board of the Minneapolis Foundation—they’ve continued to contribute their time and support to Lafayette.

The Rodriguezes place a special emphasis on supporting first-generation students, a cause that is close to both of their hearts.

“My parents are both from Spain, born and raised. They both have eighth grade educations. That’s where it ended,” Tony says. “And the one thing they just pounded into my sister and me was the importance of an education. They always encouraged us to work hard, get good grades, and just keep going for your education.”

A basketball player, Tony looked for a school that would allow him to play the game he loved, while mirroring his family’s strong academic values. Lafayette came into play late in the game, when restructuring led to a vacancy on the team. Weighing the value of a Division I, Patriot League school with Lafayette’s strong academics, Tony enrolled—without ever stepping foot on campus.

“I think of it as a kind of serendipity that I ended up there,” Tony says. Lafayette launched not only Tony and Meg’s educations and their marriage, but their future careers with the help of Career Services.

“I can’t think of Lafayette without getting a smile on my face,” Tony says. “That makes me want to give back to the College in some way, however I can. I think about how important it is for  Lafayette to be able to provide that kind of opportunity to other first-generation students, who are often economically less advantaged kids. And, I always think—if not me, who?”

This desire to pay it forward to future students led to the creation of the Rodriguez Family Scholarship Fund, which provides financial aid to students attending Lafayette with demonstrated financial need.

“Since we wanted to be generous with the College, it felt like the perfect thing to do. By directing our gift to financial aid, we can help give a student like Tony an experience like the one he had at Lafayette,” Meg says of their decision to create the scholarship. “These experiences are harder and harder to come by, and doors don’t open that easily for young people anymore.”

Just as some alumni feel motivated to support a program or department that was close to their heart during their time at Lafayette, the Rodriguezes feel the same affinity for financial aid.

“Being married to [Tony] has totally informed how I view education and accessibility to education,” Meg says, who herself is the daughter of a first-generation college student.

For Tony and Meg, it’s all about giving back however you can.

“Reflect on what you really appreciated about the College and what made a difference in your life while on campus, and then think if there’s a way to support it with either your time, talent, or treasure,” Meg says. “Keep those experiences alive so that future generations can benefit from them.”

Tony echoes the sentiment: “There’s a high intrinsic value from seeing your contribution of time, talent, or treasure contribute to the Lafayette experience. There’s plenty of worthy causes out there, but Lafayette does have a place for those who appreciate what Lafayette gave to us.”

Beyond the benefits to future generations, staying connected to Lafayette has had personal rewards for the Rodriguez family.

“I have enjoyed meeting so many interesting young students and young alumni,” Meg says. “I have made fabulous new friends, and have loved reconnecting with so many old friends, too.  It’s kind of cool that I’m still making friends through Lafayette, 40 years out of college.”