Engineering Giving Day donors offer challenge to inspire the next generation of Hokies
Spanning three generations of Virginia Tech alumni, the May family donates $50,000 to encourage participation in Giving Day 2025.
Over 60 years after Joe T. May '62 graduated from Virginia Tech, his family continues to embody the motto Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) through their dedication to helping those in need. This year, they’re upholding their legacy of supporting Hokies as the College of Engineering’s Giving Day challenge donors.
Each year, thousands of College of Engineering alumni and friends come together to support Hokies during Giving Day. The 24-hour event fosters a culture of philanthropy and provides an opportunity for the community to contribute to the areas that mean the most to them. To build on the excitement and increase the impact of gifts, the May Family Foundation is sponsoring two challenges for Virginia Tech Engineering.
The May family, spanning three generations of Hokies, includes Joe T. May, an electrical engineering alumnus; his daughter Elaine Attridge '87, who served on the College of Engineering’s advisory board for six years; his grandson Will Banner '20, also an electrical engineering alumnus; and James Attridge, a current Virginia Tech student. The family has a history of giving to Virginia Tech, having previously endowed two electrical engineering scholarships in memory of the May’s son, Philip A. May '89.
They are also committed to supporting the Pathways for Future Engineers program hosted by the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity (CEED) each summer. The multiyear College of Engineering program is designed to support first-generation students and their families on the pathway from high school to an engineering degree. As a first-generation student himself, May understands the importance of receiving help to stay on track.
“A couple people went the extra mile to give me assistance in getting established at Virginia Tech,” May said. “That made a lasting impression on me. I’ll never forget that.”
Increasing your impact
From her time on the college's advisory board, Elaine Attridge understands the importance and impact of giving back to students.
“Ideally, our giving day challenge will create a spark that ignites Hokie Nation to come together and make a real difference,” Attridge said. “Through this matching gift, we want to show that every contribution, large or small, matters, and that together we can make a significant impact on students' lives and the future of Virginia Tech.”
To encourage more participation this year, the May family will award bonus challenge funds to the four areas with the most donors. The college, engineering departments and schools, and CEED are eligible to receive the top prize of $20,000, with $10,000, $6,000, and $4,000 going to second, third, and fourth place, respectively. That’s an extra $40,000 up for grabs in addition to the university challenge funds.
As a recent grad, Banner is excited to include a young alumni match in this year’s challenges. Gifts from the classes of 2015-24 will be able to make twice the difference when given to an engineering fund. Those gifts will be matched 1:1, up to $10,000 total.
“It's particularly important for young alumni to give back because the university is constantly growing and improving,” Banner said. “If we want the institutions and activities that had such a large, recent impact on us to grow, then we need to support them now. Giving back is a way to continue our connections with the community that we recently left.”
Inspiring the next generation
Last year, more than 1,600 Hokies came together to raise over $1.4 million for the College of Engineering and its units. With the challenge funds Myers-Lawson School of Construction received from Giving Day 2024, the school sent seven students and their professor to Costa Rica for a service-learning trip, seeing a semester-long playground construction project come to life.
With the help of the May family’s challenges, the college looks forward to bringing its goal of 1,750 donors together to make an impact on the next generation of Virginia Tech engineers in the classroom and abroad. Gifts as small as $5 can provide one Adobe brick that students use in construction during a service-learning project.
As May nears retirement, he is delighted to see three generations of his family come together around a common objective — increasing participation in Giving Day.
“It gives me great satisfaction to see my daughter, Elaine, and grandson, Will, participating in their own way,” May said. “I'm approaching the end of my career, but it doesn't mean I have to be approaching the end of my giving.”
Giving Day details
Giving Day 2025 will take place on Feb. 19-20, starting at noon ET. Track the progress of your department or school on the leaderboard in its race to win the challenge funds by securing the most donors.
Want to share the excitement with your networks? Become an ambassador, make your gift using your unique ambassador link, and encourage two other Hokies to make a gift through your link on Giving Day to score exclusive Giving Day swag. Last year, ambassador efforts accounted for 40 percent of all Giving Day donations making it Virginia Tech’s most successful celebration of Hokie Spirit yet.
Alumni and friends can support the College of Engineering and its programs by donating online. On the "Give" page, select the College of Engineering as the area of support. If you would like to designate a gift to a specific department or area, another dropdown menu will allow you to select a specific fund. If you don't see your preferred gift designation, call 800-533-1144 and make your gift over the phone.
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