USD Magazine, Summer 2002

Hall will be razed this fall, and construction of the alumni center will take 12 to 14 months. Degheri was inspired to make his donation in part by alumni centers he saw at other university campuses, but mainly by his former classmates, who he says made his short time at USD - he transferred to the university as a junior - "the most fun in my life." In fact, those fellow students might have started Degheri on his successful career as an investment banker. His first financial venture came as a student, when he and some friends sold shares in an ill-fated "supper club" that, for one unforgettable weekend, provided students with an off-cam– pus venue for a nonstop party. Although gatherings with his college chums are now somewhat more tame, Degheri says they're still just as mem– orable. And, he says, such occasions deserve a place where more memories can be made. "Whether you graduated 40 years ago or five years ago, the people you know while you're in school are your family, "

Degheri reminisces with former classmate Dennis '61 and Leslie Halloran at Homecoming last year. says Degheri, whose son Danny will enter USD as a fresh– man chis fall. "A family needs a place for its celebrations and its day-to-day life. A family needs a gathering place." + - MICHAEL R. HASKI NS

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SUMMER 2002