海角论坛

Georgetown is home for . 

She is a Georgetown resident and has roots in the area on both her mother鈥檚 and father鈥檚 sides. Her father, Dr. Charles Earl Becker (M鈥�64), is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine, and two of her nieces are current Georgetown undergraduate students. Becker Aronson said that the university saved her life when she was treated at the after being diagnosed with Stage 3 melanoma in her lymph nodes. 

鈥淚 love Georgetown,鈥� said Becker Aronson, the executive director of the . 鈥淚 live in Georgetown, and I鈥檓 everything Georgetown.鈥�

That was on her mind when she pledged her latest gift from the Bernstein Family Foundation: a $100,000 donation establishing 贰惫别濒测苍鈥檚 Pushke Endowed Fund to benefit the . The fund is named in honor of Becker Aronson鈥檚 grandmother, Evelyn 鈥淓ppie鈥� Bernstein, and 鈥減ushke鈥� is a Yiddish word for a small box used to collect money for charity.

贰惫别濒测苍鈥檚 Pushke Fund will help students conduct research and apply what they鈥檙e learning in the classrooms, said , a professor of government and the director of the Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Program. It will also help students with their capstone projects, provide compensation for part-time student research assistants and support faculty members and their research. 

Georgetown鈥檚 Jesuit mission of aligns with the values that Becker Aronson and her family share, and she hopes that the donation will help raise the profile of the Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Program.

鈥淚 think Georgetown has been a really sacred place for people to learn in such a complex world,鈥� she said. 鈥淕eorgetown is about opening up dialogue, creating civility, creating new ways to think and creating ways to solve problems.鈥�

A Feeling of Affirmation

The is the first of its kind for the Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Program since Brown joined as director in 2021. In their conversations, Brown could immediately sense Becker Aronson鈥檚 passion for her community.

鈥淎mi is just really warm, really outgoing and super full of energy,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淭o have someone with really positive and uplifting energy is great to be around.鈥�

Becker Aronson said she also reached out to other universities in the DC area. Still, her preexisting relationship with Georgetown University 鈥� she for the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for a fundraising campaign 鈥� made communication easier. 

served as a key link to Georgetown University for Becker Aronson. Baxter graduated from the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences, where he studied women鈥檚 and gender studies with a concentration in globalization and poverty. He is the founder and chief engagement officer of , a community-based organization focused on eliminating poverty through long-term, place-based investment in families and youth in Southwest DC and Kenya.

The two met at an event for entrepreneurs and became friends over their shared values and connection to DC. Baxter told Becker Aronson how taking women鈥檚 and gender studies courses at Georgetown affected the way he approached addressing issues around poverty in DC.

鈥淚t pushed me to look beyond surface-level solutions and really examine the structural barriers people are navigating every day,鈥� said Baxter, who is scheduled to be the keynote speaker for the Women’s and Gender Studies Program’s capstone celebration dinner this spring. 鈥淎t GOODProjects, that shows up in how we design programs alongside the community, not for them, and how we think about long-term investment in families rather than short-term interventions.鈥�

The first thing students learn in the program is how to think critically through social and institutional structures, Brown said. 鈥淗aving a women鈥檚 and gender studies degree, like any other liberal arts degree, teaches you how to think, not what to think,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e do so in an empowering way that helps people understand who they are, their social location and how they might be of assistance to others.鈥�

Baxter believes Becker Aronson鈥檚 donation is a signal for students with interests similar to his.

鈥淚f I was a student at Georgetown right now and saw that somebody donated $100,000, that would make me feel more affirmed, like, somebody actually sees us,鈥� he said.

The Power of Giving

Becker Aronson envisions 贰惫别濒测苍鈥檚 Pushke Fund as 鈥渁n enduring spirit.鈥�

鈥淢y grandmother believed in empowering women and girls,鈥� she said. 鈥淪he taught us to stand up for what we believed in, to care about others and give back to the community.”

Becker Aronson sees the establishment of an endowed fund to the Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Program as more than a gift. It鈥檚 a partnership.

鈥淲e want to be a brain and heart partner,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e want to be ambassadors and advocates to support and shine a light on this remarkable program.鈥�

Brown is equally excited about the partnership. 鈥淚t’s building this community with Ami鈥檚 help and increasing our visibility,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he program will receive more eyes, and that means more support for our students and hopefully more networks for our faculty and students to expand our research and our reach.鈥�

The power of giving, Becker Aronson said, is the ability to change the trajectory of someone鈥檚 life, even if they might not realize it at the time. It could be one class, book or lecture that makes the difference. Philanthropy, she said, is also about actively listening to the community and reinvesting in the places you live. 

Becker Aronson believes 贰惫别濒测苍鈥檚 Pushke Fund, an enduring honor to her grandmother and her resilience, will provide students in the Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Program with more tools and access to pursue their dreams.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want students to shut down and graduate with fear,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e want them to feel expansive and dynamic and creative and curious and open. 鈥� I just so deeply believe in Georgetown, and because I live here, I want to know my neighbors. I want to know my students. I want to support the broader community to show that we’re an exceptional community.鈥�

(Top photo of Ami Becker Aronson by Brandi Nicole)