Realizing Potential - Celebrating Faculty and Staff Members' Campaign Giving

8 | REALIZING POTENTIAL Celebration | FACULTY AND STAFF MEMBERS — Campaign Giving AIMING FOR STUDENT SUCCESS IN SPORTS AND IN LIFE To Mike Mominey, NSU Athletics Director, helping student-athletes realize their potential means providing opportunities for success—in sports and in life. “In athletics, it’s almost the perfect analogy, because that’s what we do,” Mominey said. “As a coach, you’re always looking to get the most out of your student-athletes. The wins and losses are a product of the process. The process is getting the kids to be the best they can be. Then everything else falls into place.” Mominey, and his wife, Denise, have created an NSU legacy gift to benefit student-athletic scholarships, and they want to provide opportunities to students who might not otherwise attend college. “NSU has provided my family and I with a good life and an opportunity that I didn’t even know could be there when I arrived,” said Mominey, who has led NSU’s athletics program for more than 15 years and coached its first championship baseball team for 10 seasons, starting in August 2001. Mominey was named NSU’s Director of Athletics in January 2002, a role he served while continuing to coach the baseball team through the 2010 season. “The opportunity at NSU helped me find my way,” he said. “It helped me expand my horizons of what I wanted to do. Someone in this institution saw something in me that helped me realize my dream and pursue my passion of working with student-athletes. NSU has given a lot to me, so I want to give back.” Mominey grew up in “blue-collar” northeast Ohio, outside Cleveland. His mother worked in the high school cafeteria and his father was a firefighter at a chemical plant. His parents “found a way” to pay for parochial school for him and his brother, and they set an example for their children by volunteering at church and fund-raising events. “Philanthropy has always been a big part of my life. I think my parents taught me that at an early age.” Mike Mominey NSU Athletics Director FACULTY AND STAFF MEMBER GIVING