Alumnus offers $250K challenge gift to support university
For 1991 SUNY Oswego alumnus Steve Messina, giving back is about making sure the next generation has the same opportunities that helped shape his life and career. Now, he’s challenging Lakers everywhere to join him.
If 861 people make a gift to the university in 1,861 minutes, beginning 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, through 3:01 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, Messina will donate $250,000 to the university. This is the largest challenge gift in the university's history. Learn more at alumni.oswego.edu/1861GivingChallenge.
Messina, a meteorology student, recalls spending long hours in the lab in the old Piez Hall, and studying Oswego’s famous lake-effect snowstorms.
Decades later, he still remembers those storms — and the hands-on experiences that came with them — as some of the most formative moments of his Oswego education.
He also remembers fondly WTOP, where he served as general manager for two years and spent all four years behind the microphone as the station's Thursday night on-air meteorologist.
At WTOP, he thought he was simply having a great time with friends and fellow students.
Looking back, he recognizes that he gained critical experience in navigating challenges that would serve him throughout his career.
“Such amazing hands-on experience,” said Messina, a partner at the legal firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. “We had a blast at the station, but at the same time I didn’t realize that I was learning how to manage a staff and a budget as well as how to negotiate.”
Those experiences — in the classroom, in the lab, in residence halls and through student organizations — became part of the foundation for his professional success.
During his Commencement address to SUNY Oswego’s Class of 2026 graduates in May, the honorary doctorate recipient explained how one of his history professors “saw something in [him] that [he] wouldn’t recognize for years to come – potential.”
Now, he wants to help make sure future Lakers have access to those same opportunities and realize their own potential.
That’s why he has stepped forward as the challenger for SUNY Oswego’s 1861 Giving Challenge, offering a transformational gift if the Oswego community can inspire 861 people to make a gift during 1,861 minutes of giving.
The challenge begins at 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, and runs through 3:01 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2. And every gift counts, no matter its size or where it goes.
For the 1861 Giving Challenge, organizers encourage you to give to what matters to you: Scholarships. Student emergency support. Athletics. Academic programs. Student organizations. Experiential learning. The arts. Technology. Any area of campus that matters to you can benefit from your gift.
The challenger’s hope is simple: that Lakers will join him in paying forward the opportunities they once received.
“I want to lead by example,” said Messina, who serves on the Oswego Alumni Association Board of Directors. “My hope is that other alums join me in giving back to the college.”
He said that support is more important than ever.
Philanthropic support helps SUNY Oswego provide the scholarships, grants and other resources that can make an Oswego education possible for today's students and those who will follow.
“Current and future generations of students of SUNY Oswego need our help,” he said. “Current and prospective students deserve to have the same opportunities that we had as students.”
For 1,861 minutes, Lakers everywhere have the opportunity to come together and create that future — and unlock $250,000 in additional support for SUNY Oswego.
-- Submitted by University Advancement