Many Roads Lead to Sasser
Annual scholarship funds compassionate students’ goals.
People join MAC for many reasons, from social to athletic to professional. Regardless of why they become members, during her tenure as the attendant behind the Main Entrance Front Desk, Fay Sasser welcomed them to their second home with a smile on her face and their names on her lips.
Such was her reputation for dedicated service over the course of 44 years, that Sasser’s name is still spoken as a shining example of what prioritizing member experience means. It’s also spoken by employees and their families when they dream of a better future and take active steps to achieve it. The Fay Sasser MAC Employee Scholarship provides $5,000 toward one academic year, and it’s given to students pursuing degrees from associate to graduate level.
Individuals apply for many reasons, from bettering themselves to making the world a better place to a bit of both, and the Multnomah Athletic Foundation supports their ambitions. The following four 2020 recipients have different stories to tell, and all are welcome additions to club history.
Nora Glynn
For Nora Glynn, moving forward has meant building on skills she’s developed as a swim instructor working at MAC, as well as learning to overcome the challenges of continuing to grow as a person in the middle of a pandemic.
“I am a huge extrovert, so I found it difficult to not see my friends and meet new people,” she says. “However, I was able to become closer to my siblings and spend quality time with people I love. Without COVID-19, that probably wouldn’t have happened.”
Fortunately, Glynn had the firm foundation of discipline and constant striving for improvement to fall back on. Whenever the tides of current events threatened to carry her away, she found her footing in shared experience.
“I’ve been so inspired by teaching swimming, and it was such a rewarding job. I still take the lessons I learned and apply them to my everyday life. After reading about the Fay Sasser Scholarship, I knew I had to apply.”
Glynn is studying political science with a minor in sustainability at American University, and plans to eventually return to Portland and work in local government. “These funds mean that I am able to go to college and not sink myself into debt that would affect me for the rest of my life.”
The Multnomah Athletic Foundation’s commitment to giving back to our com- munity has really resonated with me,”
she adds. “I think it is so important to be an active and engaged member of your community, and if you have the financial means, you can truly change someone’s life, as they did for me.
“Five years from now, I’ll be one year out of college. I hope to be living in New York, working for a start-up sustainable clothing brand, getting a better under- standing of the circular economy, and how it is sustainable in practice. When I get older, I hope to come back to Portland and give back to this community. “I am so thankful for MAC and MAF for all they have taught and given to me.”
The Sasser Scholarship provides a $5,000 award to four outstanding MAC Employees, or dependents of MAC employees that are currently or plan on attending university or graduate school.
To learn more about the scholarships offered at the foundation visit our scholarship page.
Originally published in the October 2020 Issue of The Winged M magazine.