The idea of paying it forward is at the heart of a recent gift made by alumnus Chet Allen and his wife, Kay, to West Virginia University. The $30,000 gift will endow scholarships for students from West Virginia to study engineering in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
Allen is the first to admit he would not have been able to attend WVU if it had not been for the help of scholarship money.
“I grew up in a family of four children with only a loving mother since our father had passed away when we children were very young,” Allen said. “We had very little money, received food assistance from the state and worked hard in the summers to buy our own school clothes. We managed to save some money that would help pay for part of our college education but I could not have gone to WVU without the help of scholarship money. I now want to give that same opportunity to other West Virginia residents.”
From humble beginnings, Allen, who earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering from WVU, has gone on to achieve great success. He currently serves as senior vice president, director of the transportation division and as a member of the board of Gannett Fleming, Inc., a global infrastructure firm that provides planning, design, technology and construction management services for a diverse range of markets and disciplines.
“WVU provided me with the knowledge of civil engineering through wonderful professors,” said Allen. “I was fortunate to take these skills to a firm of 2,000 people where I could advance in my career to a very high level. I wanted to show my appreciation back to WVU by providing this scholarship.”
The gift was made to the WVU Foundation as part of A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University, a $750 million fundraising effort the Foundation is conducting on behalf of the University.
