donor Stories

Bob Shepherd: Volunteer Funder

When Bob Shepherd walked the halls as a student of SAIT, Waylon Jennings released his Greatest Hits album, General Motors released its 10th anniversary Trans Am and Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Much has changed since Shepherd graduated from Petroleum Technology in 1979 – including his alma mater.

“To come back 30 years later and learn that SAIT is touching 70,000 people a year in places as far as the Middle East, is way beyond what I had expected,” says Shepherd, a vice president for a Calgary energy trust.

“I would encourage people to come to the campus and see what’s going on here. If they graduated more than 10 years ago, it will look a lot different than when they left. It’s amazing. SAIT had a good reputation when I came here and I think that has only grown in 30 years.”

SAIT’s hallmarks of progress and innovation may be most apparent in its current Promising Futures™ capital campaign, which raises funds for the development of the school’s new Trades and Technology Complex.

Shepherd’s involvement as a campaign cabinet member and lead donor gives him a chance to not only celebrate his past, but also sneak a glimpse of the future.

“I think what is most exciting about the design is that the visibility of the institution is literally going to change. As people approach SAIT they will see a beautiful campus bustling with people. They'll see more of what's happening inside the buildings, students interacting with sophisticated equipment and with each other. I think that will spark a lot interest from young people considering their future. It’s going to be apparent that SAIT is a place with tremendous vision, ambition and opportunity” he says.

“You have a limited amount of time in your life to do something meaningful, and there are many pursuits that you can support, but SAIT is one where I see a tremendous benefit. It’s hard for me to visualize any place where the graduates can have a more immediate impact.”