David Schulz (ENG'95)

David Schulz (ENG'95) describes his time at BU as "excellent." In fact, he says with a laugh, "I wish I could go back there now."

Schulz grew up in Chicago's west side, and he says he always wanted a city school. "I wanted a broad experience, and exposure to people who studied different things."

That's why he chose BU rather than a school focused only on engineering. "And if I hated engineering, I'd have an escape hatch!" he quips. "I didn't need it."

Indeed he didn't. After earning his BS in biomedical engineering at BU, Schulz received a master's degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in industrial engineering and health systems—"business for nerds," he says. His education gave him a solid grounding for his successful career in healthcare technology. And his time at BU gave him much more.

"I am, I think, by DNA kind of a social floater," he says, "and BU let me do that: I had my fraternity friends, I had my engineering friends, I had work-study—and that and scholarships were what made it possible for me even to attend."

That's why he decided to give back. And it's partly why he decided, earlier in life than many do, to make a planned gift, by including BU in a living trust he set up "right after 9/11, actually."

"I wanted to make sure that in the event of my untimely demise-not that I thought it would be through terrorism, but there's always the infamous bus scenario-my wishes were documented and known," Schulz says. And such unusually farsighted planning fit his personality, he notes: "You're also talking to somebody who bought whole­ life insurance at 24."

Schulz's thoughtful plans ensure that he will share his good fortune with the causes that matter to him most. "I wanted BU in there," he says. "I wanted to lock that down."

It's not just fond memories that inspired him to include BU in his trust, nor is his post-college experience the kind some of his Chicago friends have had. "It's not a Big Ten school, where you go back for the football game," Schulz says. But his nephew is studying here now, so "I get to Boston and I'll visit campus, maybe stop and get something to eat."

Beyond that, he's had the chance to meet President Robert A. Brown during the president's visits to Chicago. "I'm impressed with his approach," Schulz says, "and I've been impressed with the strides that BU has made. There are a lot of good things going on."

Schulz especially admires the University's commitment to "really giving back to the community," citing BU's commitment to Chelsea in the 1990s and current Boston-based scholarship programs.

"it's not just words; they're putting their money where their mouth is," he says with evident pride. "Boston University is not only in Boston. It's of Boston."