For Anthony W. “Tony” O’Leary, ’72, MPA ’76, the path to college was not always clear. After losing his mother, his teachers helped him imagine a different future.
“My mother passed away just as I was starting high school,” Tony said. “I had a couple of teachers at the high school level that kept me on track. They were life-changing influences for me.”
Decades later, Tony and his wife, Patricia E. “Pat” O’Leary, have found a meaningful way to honor those teachers, along with the nurses who cared for them during critical moments in their lives.
Through a blended gift of outright support and planned gifts, the couple created The Anthony W. and Patricia E. O’Leary Endowed Scholarship for Education and The Anthony W. and Patricia E. O’Leary Endowed Scholarship for Nursing. These scholarships will support education and nursing students at any Kent State campus, with a preference for graduates of Coventry High School or another high school in Summit County.
For Tony and Pat, the gifts are rooted in both gratitude and a desire to give students opportunities they might not otherwise have.
“What we’re hoping to do is to help students who don’t have the financial ability to attend college, even though they have the grades and interest,” Pat said. “We both realize and understand the value of good teachers and nurses in our communities.”
Both born and raised in Akron, Tony and Pat built careers centered on serving their community. Pat, an Ohio University graduate, worked for agencies helping people who were unemployed or underemployed and developing summer youth programs. Tony worked full time at Firestone Tire and Rubber Company while attending Kent State. After graduation, he worked for a Board of Education employment program and the Private Industry Council before joining the mayor’s office. He eventually became executive director of the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, where he served for 25 years.
Those experiences gave the couple a close-up view of the challenges people face, as well as the opportunities that education can create.
“Looking back, I think that my experience at Kent State was an integral part of my success,” Tony said. “It gave me the foundation I needed to succeed in the jobs that I had throughout my career.”
Their decision to support future nurses is just as personal. Both Tony and Pat are cancer survivors, and their experiences with nurses and other medical professionals left a lasting impression. Their connections to the medical community also grew through years of volunteer service. Pat served on the Akron General Women’s Board for almost a decade, while Tony served on several local healthcare boards for more than 15 years, including the Hospice Board at Akron General Hospital.
“We have an excellent health system in Northeast Ohio,” Tony said. “We have firsthand experience with the technical skills and quality of patient care of our local medical professionals. They make such a difference in people’s lives.”
Tony and Pat met later in life through a professional association, bringing together two people who were already deeply rooted in community service. Their scholarships are a continuation of that commitment and their belief in the impact one person can have on another person’s life.
“I think if you’re working and living in a community, you need to donate to the extent you can afford to help organizations that help other people,” Tony said. “If you’re not aware of the many needs in the community and the hurdles that people with low incomes face, please look into it and support endeavors that help pave the way for people to get an education.”
Through their scholarships, Tony and Pat are honoring the teachers who helped him see college as a possibility, the nurses who cared for them when they needed it most and the community that they have spent their lives serving. Now, they are giving future Kent State students the kind of opportunity that can change their lives, while helping them make a difference in their own communities.
“We want to do what we can to help people,” Pat said. “We can’t help everyone, but we can provide these scholarships to help students in the future, making an impact long after we’re gone.”
To learn how you can make an impact and leave a legacy while supporting something you believe in, please contact us at giftplan@kent.edu or 330-672-1000, or visit www.kent.edu/planned-giving.
