{"id":32611,"date":"2025-06-27T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/?p=32611"},"modified":"2025-06-27T13:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T20:22:06","slug":"helping-students-stay-in-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/27\/helping-students-stay-in-school","title":{"rendered":"Helping students stay in school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Laura Metz arrived at UW Bothell as a transfer student in 1994, she was surprised by the amount of group work required in her evening business classes. The approach was a far cry from the community college where she had earned her associate degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, she found it frustrating to navigate the various points of view and find the way forward in group projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she quickly realized the inherent value to her career. Intent on avoiding student loans, Metz was already working full-time at Microsoft. The emphasis on collaboration and group work translated directly to her day-to-day reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat struck me about UW Bothell was it had more of a connection to the real world,\u201d said Metz. \u201cI felt my education was more hands-on than academic. They were teaching me what I needed to know in order to thrive in a business environment.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired time to give back<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After completing her undergraduate degree in Business Administration in 1996, Metz went on to earn her MBA, also from UW Bothell, in 2002. She continued to work full-time at Microsoft throughout her educational journey, progressively taking on more demanding roles. Then in 2003, she made the move from Western Washington to Northern California for a 20-year career in product marketing at Apple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was during her time in the Bay Area that she reconnected with the campus community at a 2014 alumni event. Sean Marsh, now associate vice chancellor for alumni & stakeholder engagement, remembers meeting Metz, who had commuted in brutal rush-hour traffic to attend the gathering. Nonetheless, he said, she showed up eager to engage and discover the latest developments at UW Bothell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realizing that she could make a positive impact on current hard-working students, Metz began donating to UW Bothell the next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe has always taken time out to learn more and to give back,\u201d said Marsh, who recalled many Bay Area dinners \u2014 some of them home-cooked \u2014 with Metz over the next few years. \u201cIt\u2019s not just monetary generosity. It really is her time. She has a family, two kids and an extremely busy career.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An \u201caha\u201d moment<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One evening, Marsh shared a statistic with Metz that grabbed her attention: When students drop out of college due to a short-term financial need \u2014 a surprise bill, for instance, or a shortfall in meeting the next quarter\u2019s tuition \u2014 they\u2019re unlikely ever to return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was an aha moment,\u201d said Metz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She recognized an opportunity to make an immediate impact by helping students to remain enrolled at UW Bothell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To that end, she established the Janas-Metz Endowed Student Support Fund in Business in 2019. The fund is intentionally broad in scope. Any student in the School of Business<\/a>, undergraduate or graduate, can apply for assistance in meeting a short-term financial obligation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metz recently spent an hour with this year\u2019s recipient, MBA candidate Mary Hunter. Like many UW Bothell students, Hunter supports a family while pursuing her education. The two spoke about the challenges of translating academic potential into a business degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was great to meet with her and learn about her story,\u201d said Metz. \u201cIt felt very good to see the funds being used in an impactful way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UW Bothell does an amazing job at understanding the resource needs of its local communities, which therefore provides great employment opportunities for students who attend their programs.\u00a0<\/p>Laura Metz, Legacy Award recipient, Business Administration \u201996, MBA \u201902\u00a0<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An open-hearted ambassador<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Metz is also a member of the Chancellor\u2019s Philanthropic Leadership Council, where she offers her insights on programs, advises leadership on priorities and catalyzes resources for UW Bothell. \u201cHer voice and her experience have been so valuable to discussions at the highest levels,\u201d said Marsh. \u201cShe is an incredibly important ambassador for UW Bothell.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recognition of a decade of generous contributions, Metz has been honored with the 2025 UW Bothell Legacy Award. In announcing the award, Rebecca Ehrlichman Blume, vice chancellor for Advancement, emphasized Metz\u2019s generous spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Legacy Award, she said, recognizes not only Metz\u2019s philanthropic investments but also the \u201cmyriad ways she has opened her heart to UW Bothell students and opened her networks to our campus, encouraging those she knows to explore UW Bothell and the life-changing opportunities that exist here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metz recently moved back to the Pacific Northwest to take on a director role at Airbnb. And more than ever, she said, she is aware of the practical, enduring value of giving back to her alma mater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUW Bothell does an amazing job at understanding the resource needs of its local communities,\u201d she said, \u201cwhich therefore provides great employment opportunities for students who attend their programs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiving to this school feels like money well spent, well-utilized.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Businesswoman, benefactor and two-time alumna Laura Metz receives the 2025 UW Bothell Legacy Award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":32612,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"school":[],"class_list":["post-32611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nHelping students stay in school - 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