Alumnus, volunteer recruiter, donor, U of I champion

不管他在哪里, volunteer recruiter Bob Costi ’73 champions U of I to potential students and even established a scholarship to encourage 矿石gon and Washington students to attend.

Bob Costi ’73 never takes a vacation from recruiting future Vandals. 事实上，科斯蒂是在度假时招人的. Whether he’s touring vineyards in Spain or driving along the 矿石gon coastline, he always takes the time to stop at high schools and businesses to encourage students to visit the 365滚球官网 campus.

Ph值.D. recipient, Costi has “been in love with the U of I since high school.” During a time when few colleges offered international business degrees, the faculty went out of its way to provide a unique doctoral international business program for him that blended history, 政治科学和商业课程.

“伊利诺伊大学就像一个乌托邦，”他说. “Other schools I visited were cold and unfriendly, but U of I was welcoming and beautiful.”

When I tell students about the great colleges and programs at U of I, 他们的脸都亮了.

现在 a retired director of business administration and international business professor from Eastern 矿石gon University and a former president of 矿石gon Coast Community College, Costi joined colleagues Brian Hill and Karleen Mays as U of I recruiting volunteers in his hometown of Portland, 矿石. The three of them divided the Portland region into three areas and identified high schools and community colleges to visit. 大约有五年的时间，它是一个活跃的, organized student recruiting system primarily developed for volunteers. The system generated a tremendous amount of student interest.

“The kids from the bigger city don’t know much about the 365滚球官网,” he said. “When I show them photos of our beautiful campus and tell them about our great colleges and programs, 他们的脸都亮了.”

他在俄勒冈州洛克威海滩(Rockaway beach)有一处海滨别墅., Costi and his wife, Betsy, are regular coastal visitors.

“Many of the students whom I meet live in small rural communities,” he said. “当我们游览海岸的时候, I like to schedule appointments with nearby high schools and community colleges.”

After telling students about the rural program opportunities, 土地管理和动物科学专业, 这些学生变得非常感兴趣. With few universities visiting them, they “were all ears” when Costi spoke.

Costi’s friends call him the “bridge recruiter” because, 担任俄勒冈海岸社区学院院长, he sometimes recruited homeless students camped under bridges in 矿石gon coastal communities.

In starting a new community college in Lincoln County, 矿石., Costi said it was critical he identify potential students. Two unique groups he became aware of were high school dropouts and runaways. They would oftentimes congregate under highway bridges.

Costi said just taking the time to speak with these young people and show them that higher education is possible was enough to turn their lives around. As enrollment grew, these college offerings became some of the institution’s mainstays.

作为我大学的志愿者招聘人员, he applied that same determination to encouraged students to make a trip to 莫斯科. Once here, he said, he knew many of them would be “sold on it” like he was.

“If you just talk to these kids, they will listen,” he said. “我喜欢听他们的故事，也喜欢分享我的故事. I show them that U of I offers more than just green grass; it creates this indescribable passion to pursue an education and better your life.”

今天, the prospective student interest in the Portland metropolitan area has increased substantially, 需要更多的U / I暴露. 现在, 除了鲍勃和其他志愿者, full-time Vandal recruiters visit the high schools and community colleges.

In addition to his volunteer work and regular gifts to U of I, the Costis’ will provides for the creation of the Robert and Betsy Costi Scholarship Endowment. Their goal is to attract students with financial need from 矿石gon and Washington to study in the 工商经济学院 at Idaho’s oldest public university.

“The 365滚球官网 still excites me today as much as it did in the late 1960s,” Costi said. “I am grateful to the university for opening doors for me and am blessed to give back. Higher education is extraordinary, and no one should take it for granted.”

Article by Rosemary Anderson, Donor Relations and Stewardship

Make a gift to the 工商经济学院. Enter one or more of the following funds as the designation for your gift:

• CBE -爱达荷企业家
• 工商经济学院 Excellence Fund
• 格劳格365滚球官网计划-奖学金