Loyal and Grateful Alumna Shares Why She Gives

Originally from the St. Louis area, Pamela Popp resides in Denver and is the executive vice president of Western Litigation Inc. She has nearly 30 years of health care risk management experience, ranging from direct claims management to program internalization and development, risk program consulting (risk assessments, crisis response, education), industry volunteer leadership and operational management of WLI.

As a Pershing Scholar at Truman, Pamela was active with the Student Activities Board and Delta Sigma Pi and worked with incoming students in the Admissions Office. She earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Truman, a dual master's degree from Webster University in St. Louis and a juris doctorate from Saint Louis University's School of Law.

Pamela is past president of Truman's Colorado Alumni Chapter and currently serves on the Chapter's executive board and also as a member of the Truman Alumni Board. She has documented a six-figure planned gift commitment as part of Truman's "Thanks a Million, Dr. McClain!" fundraising initiative.

Q: What motivated you to arrange a planned gift commitment to support Truman State University?
A: Everything that I have is, in some way, tied back to the beginning that Truman created. It only makes sense to return some of life's benefits back to the place that showed me how life can be what you want it to be. I learned who I was and what I was capable of thanks to Truman.

Q: Why is it important to support Truman through charitable giving?
A: Truman changes lives—each and every one of the students who have passed through the campus, the classrooms, have been changed by what they experienced there. Once you are changed, you understand what a benefit it is and why it needs
to be preserved.

Q: What do you want to accomplish with this gift?
A: I want to know that I have contributed, in some small way, to the preservation of Truman. The school has been in place since the 1800s—and it needs to be there in the 2800s.

Q: What specific event or circumstance prompted you to document this deferred gift with the Truman State University Foundation?
A: I am a lawyer and know the value of having decisions documented. Documentation is important so that there isn't a misunderstanding in what may have been your desires. It takes only moments to write it all down, and with those moments, you formalize something that allows your gift to be continued as you wanted.

Q: What were your reasons for choosing to make this gift commitment through both a bequest and designating Truman as a beneficiary of life insurance?
A: Insurance policy beneficiaries have traditionally been family members, but my family members don't need my assets to be successful. Knowing that they are already secure allows me the opportunity to share assets with students who may not have that security [and] for whom every financial aid dollar makes a difference.

Q: How does participating in charitable giving to support your alma mater make you feel?
A: Loyal and yet grateful. Knowing that the gift is there reminds me to revisit my memories over the years and enjoy again my experiences (including a few laughs at our silly student antics).

Learn More
Learn about the many ways you can support Truman State University in the future by contacting Cody Weichelt, 660-785-4124 or cweichelt@truman.edu.