#23 Selina Hofstetter (LH 2016-19)

My association with Goodenough College began in Fall 2016 when I moved into London House having just entered the second year of my PhD in Political Science at the London School of Economics. I ended up living at the College for three years and loved every moment.

For me, the College holds so many very happy memories with all the wonderful people I met there. It was also always such a productive environment for me; I frequently took advantage of the beautiful library and could walk to my office at LSE within 15 minutes.

To this day, I miss my daily breakfasts at the Great Hall and my running routine with the Running Club. The College was also, in many ways, representative of London and LSE to me, with a very culturally diverse community of students.

My family’s charitable foundation, The Hofstetter Foundation, supports academic and social welfare causes, typically with a geographic focus on Switzerland. However, my personal experience at the College was so wonderful that we made the decision to give something back.

Our foundation has donated towards a Scholarship to support postgraduate students, who are parents, to live at the College with  their families, as well as the refurbishment of the rooftop terrace at London House. It is our hope that our support will help the College to continue to offer top-quality housing at an affordable price, whilst offering Scholarships and financial support to those who need it.

It was when I was in my first year at Goodenough, and working on the callers’ telephone campaign to fundraise for the College, that I decided that one day I too would support the College financially. In addition to donating with the Foundation, I donate each year as an individual. I want to play my part in preserving Goodenough College’s beautiful estate and amazing community for many future generations of graduate students from around the world.

Donations are crucial to maintain the College’s remarkable buildings and public spaces as well as to support important Scholarships. Ultimately, the College’s financial standing also directly influences whether student rents can remain affordable. This has an impact on one of the College’s greatest strengths, its diversity.

My family and I have had a very positive experience as donors to the College. We received several suggestions on what we could donate to and were kept up-to-date on the progress of the projects we decided to support. We can therefore highly recommend other Alumni to support a cause of their choice at the College.