Scholarship Recipient Laura Delavie '92 Gives Back by Establishing Scholarship for Future Augsburg Students
She Named Augsburg as a Life Insurance and IRA Beneficiary
Words surround Laura Delavie '92 in her Bloomington, Minn., office. Act. Thrive. Imagine. They appear in creative bold fonts and different sizes against bright, lime-green walls.
Over her door is a word she made up: Ideact. It means putting ideas into action, and is an acronym for Insights/Imagine, Design, Execute, Assess, Change and Thrive.
Her gift of life insurance to Augsburg, and naming Augsburg as a beneficiary of her IRA, are inspiring examples of Delavie's own ideaction.
Out of gratitude for her education at Augsburg and for the scholarships she received, she is establishing the Inner Peace Scholarship Fund. She intends to reach the minimum $25,000 gift amount for an endowed scholarship fund through current gifts and have her estate plan gifts expand the fund after her lifetime.
The Inner Peace Scholarship will go to philosophy, sociology or psychology students at Augsburg with preference for students "who wish to study and help others with the 'examined life' of the soul, leading them to inner peace and ultimately peace for others."
Delavie Says Giving Life Insurance Is Easy
"Giving life insurance is easy," Delavie says. "It is a gift that will help the college in the future. The payout will come after my life is over, so I will never need those dollars. Insurance is an asset I can use to help the people or organizations I most care about. When I was considering possible beneficiaries, Augsburg is one of the first places that came to mind."
She double majored in philosophy and communications, though initially the thought of philosophy scared her. On the first day of class Dr. Markus Fuehrer wrote on the chalkboard: Why? Then he said, "This is what philosophers do. They ask this question." She thought to herself, "I ask that question all the time," and instantly felt comfortable and engaged.
After graduating, her career path was circuitous. She went to Europe for several months, worked for Family Service Employee Resources and then found a job at Donaldson Co. doing off-road inside sales of heavy machinery. Later she helped launch the loyalty program for Rainforest Café, and then worked at BI Worldwide for four years, moving up to be an area director for account managers.
Finding Her Vocation as a Change Agent Business Consultant
When she was downsized out of a job, Delavie decided to pursue further education and attended classes at the Creative Problem Solving Institute, and later received a master's degree from St. Thomas University in change leadership, specializing in organizational development.
Delavie launched her own firm, ALCEMIS, in 2003. She works to "move people to think and act differently to help organizations realize profitable growth. We aim to spark and guide the imagination to wildly successful results."
Cross-Disciplinary Character of CSBR Excites Delavie
What excites her about Augsburg "is seeing and hearing what is new and what is compelling. I am so happy that the college wants to build a building that houses science, business and religion. Augsburg is a Lutheran school rooted in faith, and yet creating cross-disciplinary work among these three departments speaks to a 'Yes, and...' approach. At Augsburg these departments are not diametrically opposed. They are collaborating, and collaboration is one of my favorite words and concepts."
Delavie also volunteers at Augsburg through AWE, Augsburg Women Engaged. "Volunteering and creating estate plan gifts are both ways to give back. That's important to me. I love to learn, and I'm grateful that Augsburg is so vibrant today. It is a pleasure to support people who have a passion for learning."
Learn How You Can Help
For information on how you can easily leave a gift through your estate plans to Augsburg, contact Amy Alkire at 612-330-1188 or alkirea@augsburg.edu today.
Information contained herein was accurate at the time of posting. The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. California residents: Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association. Oklahoma residents: A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. South Dakota residents: Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.