Steve Strandberg, AB’78

Together with his wife Diana, Steve Strandberg recently made a generous pledge of $50,000 to help underwrite the cost of the College’s Foreign Language Acquisition Grant (FLAG) program.

Why I give to the University of Chicago

From my personal perspective, graduating from the University of Chicago was a life-changing event for me and it put me on a completely different plane of understanding and achievement than I would have had from any other setting or university. To be immersed in an incredibly intellectually challenging environment and to be challenged and to be able to challenge ideas with both peers and professors was a mind-boggling experience.

I transferred to Chicago after two years at a small liberal arts college and a year traipsing around the woods of Alaska surveying the route for the Alaska pipeline. I was very ready for an experience that was much more intellectual than getting chased by bears—and I got it at Chicago.

How I support the University

I made a gift in support of the College’s Foreign Language Acquisition Grant (FLAG) program. The program provides summer fellowships to students traveling abroad for intensive language instruction at the intermediate and advanced levels.

Why I think foreign language study is important

I’ve always had an extreme appreciation for the value of having a second or third language. I worked abroad in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. I don’t speak Arabic, but it gave me great appreciation for the value of being able to communicate in a native tongue in the country in which you are.

I think our society lacks a fundamental understanding of different cultures. One of the most important things that a college student in our country can learn today is how to understand another culture. The ability to speak another language, to travel to a foreign country and speak directly in their language, is critically important. I wanted my gift to help people learn how to do that. It’s a small step, but I think it’s critical to opening the doors of our country to understanding people on their terms and not our terms.

Why others should give

It’s time for the alumni of many generations to look back at the University of Chicago and say thanks for the experience it gave us.