St. Louis Scholarship Fund Reaches Endowment Goal
STL Salukis have raised $25,000 and secured future financial aid for area high school students to attend SIU Carbondale.
By Caleb Hale, Editor, SIU Alumni Magazine
The SIU Alumni Association’s St. Louis Scholarship has reached its $25,000 endowment goal, cementing the fund’s future as a lasting source of financial support for area students to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The greater St. Louis region has been home to one of the association’s most active alumni networks for years. With the area having a rich population of more than 20,000 SIU graduates, alumni are active with events and fundraising efforts, including an annual trivia night each winter that raises money for the local scholarship fund.
“We’re thrilled to announce our St. Louis area alumni have reached this endowment goal,” said Molly Hudgins, executive director of the SIU Alumni Association. “This is a milestone accomplishment and means students from St. Louis have a lasting resource to help them pursue an education at SIU.”
St. Louis joins Chicago as another major metropolitan area with an endowed scholarship fund. In 2025, the Chicagoland area reached its $25,000 goal. Both endowments will generate annual scholarships, easing the financial burden for deserving students and encouraging continued enrollment from the cities. The association continues to fundraise to grow the funds further, increasing the size and/or number of annual scholarships available for students.
St. Louis-area alumni in January 2026 at the annual trivia night fundraiser.
“We’re proud to show that Salukis are always up for helping new students learn what SIU can do for them,” said Laura Soucy, a 1987 graduate and incoming president of the SIU Alumni Association National Board of Directors. “So many of us have benefited from our experiences at the university, and we want future generations to know what it means to develop and foster that Saluki pride.”
Leslie Patterson, a 2003 graduate and longtime leader of the St. Louis alumni group, said it is extremely rewarding to reach the endowment goal. “We have so many alumni who are always proud to show up and support their alma mater,” she said. “I know reaching this goal is only going to energize them further, knowing high school students from the St. Louis area will always have a resource to help them become Salukis for life.”