Seven Seals Scots Day 2023 at Monmouth College

From all over the U.S., 'Monmouth Seven' inspires Scots to give more than $300,000 to support College's students on seventh-annual Scots Day of Giving.

by Barry McNamara

MONMOUTH, Ill. (04/14/2023) — On Monmouth College's seventh annual Scots Day of Giving, Tartan Nation stepped up again in a very big way, with 767 alumni, faculty, staff and students from around the United States combining to contribute $309,406 on April 13.

With around five hours left in the all-day event, a donor from Idaho came through, allowing the last remaining state to be shaded in, officially completing Tartan Nation.

"It all relies on our alumni, and I think they've come out in full force," said Assistant Director of the Monmouth Fund Troy Hippen '22 midway through the event. "We're nine hours away from the end, and we're already close to our dollar amount from last year," when more than $232,000 was raised to support students and student programming.

The day started at 5 a.m. CDT with a livestream of bagpipes playing in front of Wallace Hall and concluded at 11:53 p.m. -- 18 hours, 53 minutes later to commemorate Monmouth's 1853 founding.

This year's Scots Day of Giving had that same general focus, as well as support for four specific programs: the Fighting Scots Society, SOFIA (Summer Opportunities for Intellectual Activity), the senior class gift and the Monmouth Fund.

What's your Monmouth Seven?

Hippen appreciated the nationwide response, which included many alumni answering the call for their "Monmouth Seven" -- seven memories or traditions they associate with their time as students.

"Despite the distance they might have from Monmouth, these are the things that bring them back to campus, no matter they are," he said.

Hippen's "Monmouth Seven" reflected the rich diversity of the Monmouth experience. The first five featured: Matriculation, Commencement, the sound of bagpipes, his initiation into Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and the relationships he formed with communication studies professors Chris Goble, Trudi Peterson and Joel Reed.

"I remember that Professor Reed would always end his classes by saying, 'Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Threats?' said Hippen. "It was a way to end each class with a smile, even though we might've talked about some heavier issues."

The football team's epic comeback victory over St. Norbert in the 2018 Midwest Conference championship game at April Zorn Memorial Stadium, which featured "The Drive," was also on his list, and there was one new addition for the final spot.

"Today, honestly," he said. "A year ago at this time, I was interviewing for this position, so I've come full circle. The goal of Scots Day of Giving is mainly to reconnect alumni back with campus. They may not even make a financial gift, but at least they thought about Monmouth today and maybe they're now considering coming back for an event like Golden Scots or Homecoming."

Another newcomer to Scots Day of Giving was Tucker Quinn, the College's director of digital marketing and communication. Although other College events such as the Golden Scots Celebration and Commencement weekend are popular on social media, he said Scots Day of Giving ranks right up there with them, "and it happens all in one day."

The Cash Cab was money

"In particular, the Cash Cab blew me away," said Quinn. "It surprised me. We had people coming down to headquarters, asking when they could be on it."

Hippen said: "I was hoping the Cash Cab would be received really well, and it sounds like it was."

Hippen, who renamed the wandering golf cart "Troy's Trivia Trolley" when he was on board, added: "I'd love to see it continue because, number one, I had a lot of fun doing it. I had some students tell me today, 'I think I'll always remember my ZBT initiation,' or 'I'll always remember my first football practice.' But I was also able to talk to students about giving back to campus -- just hone in on educating them about the importance of giving back, whether that's one year out of school, or 10 or 30 years down the road, when we're hopefully doing our 37th annual Scots Day of Giving."

And that is one of the beautiful things about Monmouth College. With its rich history of campus traditions, it seems very likely that the students who graduate in the 2020s, '30s and '40s will still be talking about bagpipes, Homecoming and the meaningful relationships they formed with their professors and college friends when that 2053 event -- which will also be the College's bicentennial -- comes around.

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