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June 5: Mayer Mall Dedication June 7: Pirates of Penzance Performing Arts Scholarship Benefit June 11: 5th Annual Engineering Alumni and Faculty Golf Outing and Banquet June 12: Terps Take Manhattan June 24: Baltimore Regional Alumni Event |
Join the university as we celebrate the dedication of the William E. and Kathy Mayer Mall just outside of the Smith Business School. To RSVP and learn more, contact Tina Murphy at 301.405.3467 or |
 Volunteers Make the DifferenceFrom Athletics to Board Member—No Limits for This Alumna
For the Montgomery County, Md. native, the university has always loomed larger than life. Legendary Maryland basketball coach, Lefty Driesell’s son Charles went to Springbrook High School with Potter. She has a younger brother, Jeff, who also graduated from the university. As a Maryland student, Potter was mentored by some major leaguers including William Kirwan, now chancellor of the University System of Maryland, Leonard Raley, vice chancellor and CEO of the University System of Maryland Foundation Inc. and former Maryland Alumni Association director Joan Patterson. “I’m just blessed that as a student, I met three mentors who went on to do great things. I’m so grateful that I can call them my friends,” says Potter. From childhood to the present, Potter has actively volunteered in a range of organizations. Before graduating from Maryland and going on to the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, she was actively involved on campus. Potter, who played intramural softball and basketball here, is a huge Maryland athletics fan. Having served as the first female president of the Terrapin Club from 2003-04, she quotes Maryland’s Athletics Director Deborah Yow saying, “Athletics is the front porch to the university.” After all, Maryland’s top collegiate sports teams are regularly spotlighted in the news. She believes increasing private support for athletics scholarships and facilities is essential. “I think the average Maryland fan does not understand that athletics does not receive state funding,” says Potter. She encourages the Maryland community to support the university by whatever means is available to them. “My financial success did not come at one time. It started out modest and as things changed, I adjusted my giving levels. You don’t have to start with a huge gift. It can grow along with you,” she adds. Growth for Potter, who dreamed of becoming a lawyer when she was a child, includes some historic opportunities. She is the youngest president of the Anne Arundel Bar Association and one of the youngest members appointed by the Court of Appeals to serve on the Rules Committee, which determines the procedures governing all civil and criminal law attorneys in the state. Today, as a Maryland trustee, she says, “I think we’re constantly reminded that the university could achieve more if all alumni and friends would do their part, no matter how small or large the check. It all helps,” she says. She sees Great Expectations as the road to greatness for Maryland. But she notes everyone in the university community plays a role in making that happen. “I want all alumni to realize what a fantastic value they’ve received for their education,” says Potter. “Just by giving back a little, we can move the university into the Top 10 of public research universities.”  | ||||||
