It was the early 1920s when Eunice Schwemm ’23 enrolled at Northern Illinois State Normal School to earn a certificate in teaching. Warren G. Harding was president, and women had only recently won the right to vote.

Even as valedictorian of her class at Barrington High School,

Eunice’s avenues for professional study were limited. Women

of her time generally became nurses, secretaries, or teachers.

She may not have had many doors open to her, but Northern

Illinois’ door was wide open. Resolute in her desire to become a

teacher, Eunice walked right through that door and flourished

as a college student.

After graduation, she landed a job in the Oak Park public

school system, where she taught for several years before

marrying Earl Schwemm in 1928 and returning to her

hometown to raise a family.

Although she set aside her lesson plans and grade books,

Eunice remained a teacher at heart. Earl made a good

living selling insurance for the Great-West Life Assurance

Company, while she channeled her

passion for education into her roles

as homemaker and mother.

The couple raised three sons: Jack, Dick,

and Bob.

“My parents lived the American dream,” Bob Schwemm

says. “They did better than their parents and worked to

provide an even better life for us. That’s why I’ve made plans

through my trust to remember NIU and contribute to this

family legacy.

“In an unspoken way, my parents taught us that education

was the launching pad to a better life.”

Eunice passed on her love of teaching to her sons. Bob is

the Ashland-Spears Distinguished Professor at the University

O U R W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 N E W S L E T T E R

Parents’ Values Inspire Family Legacy at NIU

CORNERSTONE

Continued on Page 2

F A L L 2 0 1 6

Bob Schwemm with his wife, Sarah, and Eunice’s granddaughters, Diane Schwemm and Kari Gies

Earl, Eunice, and John Schwemm

of Kentucky College of Law, where he has taught constitutional law

and civil rights since 1975. Dick, a retired IBM executive, teaches adult

education courses on the U.S. Constitution, physics, and other topics in

New London, New Hampshire.

Creating Eunice’s LegacyWhen Eunice passed away in 1999, she remembered NIU with a gift

through her estate to provide opportunities for students like Piotr

Wojciaczyk. When son Jack, a Chicago-area corporate executive, died in

2011, he, too, left funds for the family endowment.

Eunice’s values live on in her scholarship recipients. The ideal

candidate for an award hails from the Chicago metropolitan area and

plans to teach in high-need inner-city schools.

“We are sold in what we are doing at Northern because it’s meaningful

to others, and we know that’s what our mother would have wanted,” Bob

says. “She believed that if you give people a chance, they will flourish.”

Contact us at (866) 385-1507 to learn how you can leave a lasting legacy for NIU students.

Parents’ Values Inspire Family Legacy at NIUContinued from Page 1

ARE YOU READY FOR DECEMBER 31?In our FREE brochure 6 Smart Strategies for Year-End Giving, you will discover: • What you can give.• When you should give to get the most from your gift.• What benefits you receive when supporting causes you care about at the end of the year.

Return the enclosed survey to receive your complimentary copy today.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

Plan Your Living LegacyDiscover how you can

contribute to a lasting legacy at NIU at niu.planmylegacy.org.

Eunice Schwemm

“ My parents lived the American dream. They did better

than their parents and worked to provide an even

better life for us. That’s why I’ve made plans through

my trust to remember NIU and contribute to this

family legacy. — BOB SCHWEMM

”

At the school, Piotr has developed his own curriculum to teach

technology and design to middle school students, and continues

to expand their knowledge by teaching them about global matters

and providing them with field trips, such as taking them to NIU’s

STEMfest this fall.

Working with a diverse group of students is easy for him, Piotr

says, because NIU prepared him for that. After graduating in

2012, he had several job offers but liked the opportunity to work

with Pulaski because it is an International Baccalaureate school.

The IB program is designed to develop students’ intellectual,

personal, emotional, and social skills to live, learn, and work in a

rapidly globalizing world.

“They genuinely want to learn and that is really

rewarding,” says Piotr, who also holds a master’s degree in

educational technology.

Piotr wanted to return to the inner city to teach, where his

family settled after emigrating from Poland. The Eunice B.

Schwemm Scholarship is given to Chicago-area students like

Piotr, who are pursuing a teaching degree and who demonstrate

need. Preference is given to students who plan to teach in

the inner city or in a Chicago-area system with educationally

challenged children.

“That’s where my childhood memories are and that’s where

I wanted to go and get back to my community,” Piotr says.

He credits Northern Illinois for contributing to his success

because his undergraduate degree made him very marketable.

“I felt that NIU was really helpful in preparing us for what is

actually going on in the classroom,” he says.

Like most students, Piotr graduated with loans and found that

paying for college was hard. “I was often discouraged along the

way. I had loans and I would worry about not being able to find

a job,” he remembers. “Scholarships let me focus on what I could

achieve rather than whether or not I would be able to come back

the following semester.”

Thanks to NIU donors, he became a scholarship recipient and

was awarded several scholarships while he worked toward his

bachelor’s degree. “Because of the fact that these people continue

to support students like me and believe in graduates of NIU, it’s

really important that they know that students really appreciate

that and we are thankful for the ongoing support,” he says.

CAREER SUCCESS IN ACTION

Grateful STUDENT

Scholarships let me focus on what I could achieve rather than whether or not I would be able to come back the following semester.

—Piotr Wojciaczyk ’12”

“

Since earning the Eunice B. Schwemm Scholarship and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from NIU, Piotr Wojciaczyk has become a standout teacher at the Pulaski International School of Chicago.

You, too, can help deserving students like Piotr Wojciaczyk make their dreams come true and lead a better life through excellence in education at NIU. Give us a call at (866) 385-1507 to learn more.

Piotr’s students attending NIU STEMfest October 2016.

1425 West Lincoln Highway • DeKalb, IL 60115John Sentovich, Director of Gift Planning(815) 753-1344 • toll free (866) 385-1507 • sentovich@niu.eduJudy Schneider, Gift Planning Officer(815) 753-1389 • jschneider@niu.eduniu.planmylegacy.org

We’ve all done it—given a gift that we know the recipient won’t love. This season, consider a gift they won’t want to return. If you know someone who values the meaningful work we do at NIU, consider making a donation in his or her honor. These tribute gifts are also a great way to remember loved ones who are no longer with us.

How to Make a Tribute GiftThere are three easy ways to give a tribute gift to the NIU Foundation, none of which requires a trip to the mall: » Make a gift today—An outright gift can help

fund our immediate needs or an upcoming project. The financial benefits include an income tax charitable deduction when you itemize deductions

on your federal income tax return, and the possible elimination of capital gains tax.

» Make a gift through your estate plan—Include a gift in your will or living trust, stating that a specific asset, certain dollar amount or percentage of your estate will pass to us after your lifetime in honor of your loved one.

» Make a gift that lives on forever—Honorary endowments can be made now or through your estate plan. Endowments are structured so that a small portion of your gift, rather than the whole amount, is used each year to fund a particular purpose. To perpetuate the fund forever, the majority always remains intact and is invested for the future.

3 Easy Ways TO GIVE THE PERFECT GIFT

Want to learn how you can extend the impact of a gift to the NIU Foundation well beyond the holiday season? Contact us at (866) 385-1507.

© The Stelter Company | The information in this publication is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax adviser. Figures cited in examples are for hypothetical purposes only and are subject to change. References to estate and income taxes include federal taxes only. State income/estate taxes or state law may impact your results.

During the holidays, do you often struggle to find the perfect gift for loved ones, only to settle for something else just so you can cross them off your shopping list?