Latin School of Chicago

Scholarship Dinner Event Chairs For Denise and Matt Gibson, and Liz and Dean Mihas, co-chairs of the Scholarship Dinner 2018, what sets the Latin community apart is the willingness of parents to play an active role in their child's education, to "jump in and lend a hand." It is with this notion and a strong belief in the power of financial aid that the Gibsons and Mihases volunteered to co-chair this year's Scholarship Dinner. Each year, the three divisions of Latin School choose to focus on one theme – a guiding concept and vision to enforce, study and implement throughout the coming year. 2018 is the year of Leadership. Through the leadership of the co- chairs, the Scholarship Dinner 2018 has experienced innovations. One of the most notable changes was the addition of a community consignment drive, where families donated branded apparel and accessories to be sold through consignment retailers to provide an additional source of fundraising for Latin's financial aid program. While Liz, Denise, Matt and Dean are visible leaders this year, "[they've] been tremendeously moved by the way in which so many parents, teachers and staff have demonstrated behind-the-scenes leadership by giving their time and talents and resources to make this year's scholarship dinner a success," noted Liz. The Gibsons and Mihases were eager to talk about their involvement because, as Denise put it, "Education has the power to transform lives and change children's trajectories." With two sons, Benjamin '25 and Samuel '22, Denise and Matt know firsthand the excellence of a Latin education and "believe it benefits all [Latin students] to have classmates with a variety of different backgrounds learning alongside one another." Liz and Dean spoke about financial aid with a similar sentiment. "Financial aid brings families and kids into our community that enrich and enhance our community," Liz said. Parents of Alice '23 and Marianne '21, the Mihases spoke of their desire to give their girls a better education than they had received; an education which is "more stimulating, more modern... more enlightened... and which is underpinned and shaped by state-of-the-art education research." As one of the most successful independent school fundraisers in the country, the Latin Scholarship Dinner is a critical part of Latin's ability to provide financial aid and life changing opportunities to a next generation of deserving students. The power of the event reflects the deep generosity and commitment of our community to broadening all students' learning experience. Dean, Liz, Matt and Denise are grateful to everyone involved who have worked so hard to achieve this life-changing goal together. — Lauren Salzman '18 & Will Slater '18, Editors, The Forum Scholarship Dinner 2018 9 "Education has the power to transform lives and change children's trajectories."

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