For Sean Hayden ’09 and Colleen Byrne Hayden ’08, supporting SUNY Geneseo is an opportunity to pay it forward for an institution that still feels like home to them.
“When my mom brought me on college tours, she said, ‘This is a great school. Let’s go see what you think,” said Colleen, who played on the women’s lacrosse team. “I walked on campus, and it just felt right. It just seemed like home.”
Sean, who played hockey for the Geneseo Ice Knights, came away with a similar feeling after he attended the 2005 SUNYAC hockey finals.
“The excitement and the electricity inside of the Ira S. Wilson Arena was what did it for me,” said Sean. “I thought, ‘This is a great school with competitive hockey.’ We went out and had a great time on the town, and so it checked all the boxes for me.”
Recently, the Haydens have focused their giving to their alma mater through the SUNY Impact Foundation Charitable Tax Program, a time-limited opportunity to donate to the College and receive generous tax benefits from the State of New York.
“The respective departments and the individuals that they put in charge of the Charitable Tax Program have done a great job getting the word out and letting people know what the program is and how it can benefit both the donor as well as the school,” said Sean.
The Haydens focus their support on the areas that impacted them the most, including the men’s hockey and women’s lacrosse programs and the School of Business and the Department of Global Language and Culture in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Sean, who majored in business, is currently the president and financial planner at HD Financial Specialists. Colleen teaches Spanish in the Lockport, N.Y. public school system. They both credit their experiences as student-athletes for their professional achievements since they graduated.
“Because both of us feel so strongly about how much being on a sports team helped us succeed at Geneseo, and now post-Geneseo, it just feels good to know we can help out these programs,” Colleen said.
“Our respective sports experiences continue to shape us, not just through giving us an education, but more so as who we are as individuals,” Sean said.
The Haydens both feel a great sense of pride in the success of the men’s hockey and women’s lacrosse teams and their role in helping to sustain the development of those programs.
“You look at the programs, how they’ve all continued to grow, and some of the more recent alumni that have come out of there, and you see that every gift and donation you make does make a difference,” said Sean.
