What began as a conversation among friends became a scholarship fund for incoming students at Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The Class of 2026 Senior Class Gift raised over $33,000 – surpassing its original $25,000 goal – to establish a need-based scholarship for first-year students entering as the Class of 2030. Seniors Christine Leung, Lalit Gurrapu, Dhwani Patel, and Owen Krajecki led the campaign, which drew more than 280 donors.
Launched “for students, by students,” nearly 70 percent of contributions to the campaign came from fellow students, a testament to the culture of engagement and philanthropy fostered within the College.
Relationships built before the campaign
Gurrapu and Krajecki met through the Gies Access & Engagement Early Arrival Program. Campus involvement in business fraternities and consulting organizations later expanded their circle to include Leung and Patel. The group competed together in case competitions hosted by PwC, Deloitte, and Crowe under the team name "CLOJD," an acronym of their names. The friends also shared involvement in several organizations such as Illinois Business Consulting and the Illinois Consulting Academy. Those experiences, the students said, shaped how they worked together.
"These weren't just assigned group projects," they said. "We chose to work together because we enjoyed learning from each other."
Through the competitions and their broader involvement in the ecosystem of experiential learning at Gies Business, the group developed a deep understanding of teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving, gaining skills that would later prove essential in launching the Senior Gift initiative.
From conversation to initiative
The concept for the Class of 2026 gift began with a different idea. Krajecki first imagined a smaller-scale event connecting students with Gies Business benefactor Larry Gies (ACCY '88) as a fireside chat. As the idea evolved, the group saw an opportunity to create something more enduring.
"My relationship with these three helped me understand what I wanted from my future," Krajecki said. "We started asking ourselves how we could provide that same sense of connection and opportunity to future students."
With backing from Dean Brooke Elliott, and logistical support from Associate Dean for Advancement Rebecca Pagels and the Gies Business advancement team, the group pivoted to build the campaign around existing student networks. The proposed fireside chat grew into a series of events, culminating at the Gies Business Spring Luncheon, where the group announced they had exceeded their goal.
Giving back before graduation
For the student leaders, the campaign also represented a shift in mindset, from benefiting from resources to contributing to them.
"A big part of this was changing the narrative," Patel said. "You don't have to wait until after graduation to give back. You can make an impact while you're still here."
Each brought a personal stake to the effort. Gurrapu, a Gies Scholar, focused on expanding access to education. Leung pointed to her younger brother, a current student at Gies Business, as a motivating factor. Patel said the community she encountered on her first campus visit was a reason she chose Gies Business.
Together, those experiences reinforced a shared belief: access to opportunity should continue for future generations of students.
Building a lasting legacy
As these Gies Business seniors prepare to take their next steps – pursuing careers in consulting, finance, and technology across cities like Chicago and New York – their impact at Gies Business is already firmly established.
“We’re just so grateful to Gies Business for all the opportunity here,” said Patel. “This place is unique, we couldn’t have found each other and done this anywhere else.”
“Shout out to all the people who helped us get here too!” Gurrapu said. “Michel Watkins, Christine Beyers, Paul Elliott, Jeremiah Cox, Dean Elliott and Larry Gies of course. It’s an all-star team over here.”
Through their leadership, collaboration, and commitment to giving back, this group of friends have created more than a scholarship fund. They have built a model for how students can leverage their education, relationships, and experiences to create meaningful change.
And for future Gies Business students, that legacy is just beginning.