Ed Bambach: [0:00] I'm Ed Bambach, Class of 1950. I matriculated here following a couple of years in the army during World War II. The college at that time was a teacher's college and only had majors in the education field. I graduated as a teacher. I taught for two years. I left teaching and went into the administrative end of higher education.


[0:35] Just after I retired, I contacted my wife Laura and suggested that they establish a scholarship in my name.

Man 1: [0:45] ...rewarding parts of our job is to put people together. We typically try to get the people who form endowed scholarships together with their scholarship recipient. When they have such an affinity, as Ed seems to have with Prat, and vice versa, that's even better.

Ed: [1:02] Then I met Prat. The occasion of the development office bringing all the scholarship donors and honorees together. When this fellow walks into a room, he lights it up. [laughs]

Prat Vyas: [1:16] My name is Prat Vyas. I am a graduate and an alum of The College of New Jersey, Class of 2007. I work in New York City for J.P. Morgan in the private client service area serving as an investment analyst.


[1:27] During my time at TCNJ I was someone who liked to explore a lot of different things. I applied for the ambassador program, which became a significant part of my collegiate life.


[1:35] When I went to TCNJ and actually visited the campus, it just felt right for me. It was a great sense of community. The class sizes are small. You really got to know your professors.


[1:44] My senior year, I was definitely caught off guard. I was notified that I was nominated for the Edward Bambach scholarship. We had a scholarship procession where I found out that I actually was a recipient, which I was totally caught off guard. I did not expect that at all.


[1:57] Mr. Bambach has been a really great resource, a great mentor, and a person I can always go to and look at as a role model.

Ed: [2:04] He just kept telling me how thrilled he was that he got some help through the scholarship. He's going to keep in touch. [laughs] He has.

Man 1: [2:13] The friendship that Prat and Ed have forged over the last year and a half or so is very special. We want everybody to create that kind of a relationship, whether it's for a program or for a student or for a faculty member.


[2:25] If you look at the very best schools in this country, and look at the way they've been able to sustain their strength over time, it's through the accumulation of endowments. We've been able to build our endowments quite significantly over the past five or six years, but it's not even close to where our competitors endowments are, so we need to keep going.


[2:44] We have 63, 000 alumni. It might take 60, 000 people like Ed doing the same thing.

Ed: [2:50] I went through this college without paying a dollar because of the G.I. Bill. It was the college that got me started on my career. Whatever I did in my life, it's because of what I got here and from the confidence that the faculty members put into me.


I take great joy in seeing somebody else benefit from the basis of how I'm trying to give something back. It's just been very gratifying.

Man 1: [3:08] Part of what defines, or what helps colleges stay strong over time is the strength of alumni support. There's something very special that's occurring here at TCNJ, and people are beginning to recognize that. Alumni support is beginning to take off, and we want every alumnus and alumna, whether they're a State Teacher's College grad or a Trenton State grad or a TCNJ grad to be part of this. It's your school.


[3:51] If I were to leave you with one message, it's this. Stay in touch, support your school, stay...