Alumni Recruitment Volunteers Help Shape The Future Of SMU

As Student Recruitment Volunteers (SeRVe) for SMU, Don Morriss ’76 of Texarkana, Texas, and Leigh Todforde ’86 of Houston share their perspectives about life on the Hilltop in their communities.

Offered by the SMU Office of Alumni Engagement, the SeRVe program enables Mustangs to spread the word about the value of an SMU education with prospective students and their parents. Alumni participate in admission events and college fairs, as well as contact admitted students to encourage them to attend SMU.
Don, who earned a B.B.A. from SMU, represents his alma mater frequently at college fairs in East Texas. “I tell high school students that SMU has a smaller school feel with all the advantages of a big-city location,” he says. “From top corporations and law firms to tech start-ups, the Dallas business environment is ideal for students interested in internships and career opportunities after graduation.”
For the past 39 years, Don has followed in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, grandfather and father as an independent insurance agent with Offenhauser & Co. Insurance in Texarkana. He credits Frank Young, professor emeritus of insurance, and other Cox School of Business faculty members with providing a solid academic background for his career.

Leigh also acknowledges the lasting influence of great professors. During a recent visit to New York City, she made a special trip to The Cloisters because “I just had to see the Unicorn Tapestries that Bonnie Wheeler [associate professor of English and director of Medieval Studies] had talked about so much,” she says. Leigh received a bachelor’s degree in English from SMU and later earned a master’s degree in education from the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
As a recruitment volunteer, she contacted accepted students in the Houston area to encourage them to make SMU their number-one choice. “They were all very lovely young people who said they appreciated the outreach,” she says. “It was a very manageable, easy-to-do project to support the University.”
Join Leigh, Don and almost 3,500 Mustangs around the world who volunteer for the University by checking out the wide variety of programs available and filling out an interest form today. For questions or more information, email involved@smu.edu.