Opening the Door for “New Arrivals”
Through his annual support, William Glennon (’82, ’87, WW) is helping other Embry-Riddle Worldwide students find their ‘land of opportunity.’
William “Bill” Glennon (’82, ’87, WW) knows first-hand what it’s like to seek and find the land of opportunity. At age 19, he came to the United States from Ireland looking for opportunities, and he found just that with the help of Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campuses. Today, he’s helping provide opportunities for other Worldwide students through his annual support.
“Growing up in Ireland, there was little emphasis on education and the only real option for the majority of young people was emigration, and so vast numbers of us came here for more opportunities,” says Glennon. “There is a philosophy in any emigrant population that when you gain a foothold in the new land, you help new arrivals when you can. I take that approach towards education and feel that it is my duty to similarly help others.” .
Glennon has held strong to his philosophy of giving back to “new arrivals” – in this case, other Embry-Riddle students – since 1988, and has supported The Fund for Embry-Riddle each year since 2006. “If my support allows just one more of the Worldwide Campuses to continue to operate and be able to accommodate even one student that needs ‘just one prerequisite’ to finish his program, like I did, or if it allows a campus to offer a concentrated summer session to work with a group of eager students that would otherwise have to wait to get a prerequisite course out of the way, then I am pleased,” says Glennon. .
Joe Pauwels, executive director of Advancement Services, emphasizes the importance of annual gifts and their purpose: “Annual gifts are the backbone to our philanthropy goals and thanks to annual donors like William Glennon, Embry-Riddle students are able to receive a superior education with real-world perspectives and skills. By providing consistent gifts each year, we are able to commit to funding student scholarships, covering the cost of tuition and books, and supporting the Worldwide Fund for Excellence.”
As a Worldwide Campus graduate himself, Glennon understands how crucial a role each campus can play in a student’s career path. He served many years in the U.S. Army before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, – all the while earning his Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics and Masters in Aeronautical Science degrees. “As an aviator with the 101st Airborne Division, Embry-Riddle Worldwide was the logical choice for me, and I got my undergraduate degree by truly attending classes all over the world,” explains Glennon, who attended Worldwide Campuses in Georgia, Kentucky, Nebraska and Germany. “Later in my career, while assigned to the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) at Offutt AFB, Neb., I took the opportunity to attend graduate school with Embry-Riddle, again because of the accessibility of the program on the Worldwide Campus.”
Since earning his masters degree, Glennon has worked at Northrop Grumman in various management positions and is currently a program manager overseeing a project that developed the Army’s first web-based property accountability system.
He credits his education at Embry-Riddle for helping him reach his career success, despite his humble beginnings. “Although I started out in the Army with only a high school GED, I was able to attain my undergraduate and graduate degrees from Embry-Riddle, which was a key to getting where I am now,” he says. “Having a graduate degree from one of the most prestigious aviation and engineering institutions in the world, I believe, opened doors for me that otherwise would have been only a dream.”
Today, Glennon is proud to help open doors of opportunity for others. “I believe education is the key to success, and that if I give to an educational institution and enable just one student to achieve success, and that person goes on to impact others through his career, I believe my contribution has achieved great things,” he says. “My family and I are truly thankful for all the opportunities that this great nation has offered us, and so we serve and give back where we can to help keep America great.”
