Investing for the Future
Rebecca Lange-Thernes, M.ED. ’91, teaches middle school students about long-term financial impact while supporting her alma mater with an endowed scholarship fund for future Greyhounds
Rebecca Lange-Thernes is a 1991 graduate of Loyola University Maryland’s graduate program in educational leadership.
When she came to Loyola to earn her master’s degree as a middle school teacher, Rebecca Lange-Thernes wasn’t thinking much about the fact that she would receive a Jesuit education.
Years later, as her career took her into relief and development working for Lutheran World Relief, she traveled around the world, leading study tours in Africa, Asia, and South America and designing educational activities related to topics such as AIDS and world hunger.
Getting more involved in this community each year, I see that Loyola is a smart, mature community, and I really enjoy it in so many ways.
“We worked with grassroots organizations, and some of the projects were Jesuit-driven,” she says. “That was part of my foundation, and here I was finding it in other regions in the world.”
Today Lange-Thernes is executive director of Stocks in the Future, a Baltimore-based program that offers underserved middle school students a real-world financial education with the personal finance skills to position them for future success.
“It’s a great time to have this conversation because most financial literacy concepts come from middle school math concepts,” she says. “We show students that going to school and doing the best that you can is a way of investing in yourself.”
While becoming more engaged in schools in Baltimore City through Stocks in the Future, Lange-Thernes also reconnected with her alma mater. She and her husband, Mark, decided to make a planned gift to Loyola to create an endowed fund that provides scholarships, making it possible for future students to benefit from the Jesuit education she values.
“You want to feel that your money is going to be used in a smart way,” says Lange-Thernes, who serves as the chair of Board of Advisors for Loyola’s School of Education.
“Getting more involved in this community each year, I see that Loyola is a smart, mature community, and I really enjoy it in so many ways.”
Learn more about making a planned gift to Loyola University Maryland.