Rally Day Campaign Celebrates the Class of 2023 Throughout February

Join Smith in honoring the senior class with 2,023 gifts to The Smith Fund. The trustees will match up to $500,000!

This February, we’re extending the special spirit of Rally Day to the entire month with a Smith Fund campaign in honor of the senior class. What better time to pause for a moment and remember the impact of Rally Day, as the Smith medalists receive awards and the seniors don their graduation robes for the first time. It’s a wonderful moment each year when exceptional alums inspire undergraduates with words of wisdom. For seniors, it’s a symbolic passing of the torch as they approach graduation.

Rally Day presents the perfect opportunity to recognize Smith’s role as a national leader in educational access. Here’s what a few of this year’s graduating seniors say about the importance of financial aid:

“Financial aid gives me the freedom to spend my days making plans bigger than myself … allowing me to focus my effort on making an impact where it’s important.”
—Adriana Beltran Andrade

“Money is often the barrier that keeps people from attaining their aspirations. … Financial aid changes lives.”
—Egypt Ballet

“To see the ways in which Smith has increased grant funding for its students in recent years makes me proud to call myself a Smithie.”
—Norma Jean Haynes

“My award has allowed me to explore a brand-new world of academia and has set me up for future success as a Smithie. … The confidence I have in myself today I owe to Smith donors.”
—Gabriela Lopez

You can help!

In honor of this year’s graduating class and the proud spirit of Rally Day, we are asking the Smith community to raise 2,023 donations during February. The Smith College Board of Trustees will match all February Smith Fund gifts dollar-for-dollar, up to $500,000.

Give to support Smith students

Not only will your gift have double the impact, but if you give $5 or more to The Smith Fund during February, we’ll display a special Rally Day paper hat—with your first name on it—in the Julia McWilliams Child ’34 Center!

Or you can make your gift in honor of a student, faculty member, friend, mentor or Smith staffer and we'll put their first name on the hat instead. To do so, just include their name in the "In honor of" section on the giving form when making your gift.

The Smith Fund supports every Smith student, every day with the daily costs of critical programs, including financial aid, career services, student life and curricular support. Your gift to The Smith Fund drives Smithies forward.

Who are the Smith medalists?

Four exceptional alums will receive the Smith College Medal for contributions to their communities and to the world:

• Kathleen E. Toomey ’73, public health leader. Dr. Toomey has worked in public health within the U.S and in many parts of the world, including Peru, Somalia and Botswana. Most recently, she spearheaded Georgia’s public health response to the pandemic.
   
• Victoria (Tori) Murden McClure ’85, higher education leader, author and adventurer. McClure’s remarkable achievements are a portrait of her passions: groundbreaking athlete, adventurer, policymaker and higher education leader.
   
• Vanessa Daniel ’00, social justice leader and grassroots organizer. Daniel is the founder of Groundswell Fund and Groundswell Action Fund, both of which have been top funders of women of color-led social justice organizations in the U.S.
   
• Shaharzad Akbar ’09, human rights advocate. A native of Afghanistan, Akbar is a pioneering human rights activist dedicated to political issues related to her country and her generation.

Learn more about the 2023 Smith medalists. 

Make a gift to The Smith Fund.

On Rally Day, be sure to check out Smith’s Instagram, where you’ll see seniors wearing gowns and creative hats!

January 10, 2023

How can I watch the medalists on Rally Day?

You can watch the acceptance speeches live on Smith’s Facebook page starting at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time on February 23.