There are myriad pathways advancement professionals take to find their way to the field. Some get their starts as student callers or volunteers for their alma mater; some make the leap from other professions; others land there by sheer luck. 

The 25 newcomers who won CASE’s 2023 Virginia Carter Smith Scholarships have varied backgrounds and career pathways. In April, CASE awarded the 2023 scholarships to recipients across all four global CASE regions. The scholarship is for individuals who have three or fewer years of experience in advancement or have changed advancement disciplines within the last three years. For these newcomers to the profession or their chosen discipline, the scholarship covers the full registration cost for a CASE in-person or online conference.  

Read on to learn more about three of these scholarship awardees and how they’re exploring the disciplines, forging relationships, and using their CASE scholarship to deepen their skills. 

Cristina Obordo

Combining new skills and experience to achieve success 

“Raising funds for the benefit of scholars and our students is the biggest motivator,” says Cristina Obordo, Annual Fund and Community Engagement Manager at United World College of South East Asia, Singapore. 

Obordo embarked on a two-year, part-time master’s degree in management at Singapore University of Social Sciences during the pandemic. She gained skills in digital marketing and data analytics, as well as learned touchpoints in the customer journey. She joined UWCSEA’s foundation team in April 2022 to apply this learning and expand her horizons. Previously, Obordo worked in admissions at UWCSEA. 

“I have the benefit of institutional knowledge about scholarships and UWCSEA and benefited from relationships I have built with UWCSEA staff over the years,” she says. “I also used the concepts I acquired from digital marketing in our campaigns this year. The patchwork of different ideas, concepts, and theories is becoming a whole!” 

Within the last year, Obordo has set up a donation tracking system that helps her and her team understand donor profiles. They have also successfully met fundraising targets and launched three social media campaigns. 

With the VCS scholarship, Obordo completed CASE’s Road Map to Advancement, an online, on-demand course that offers a big picture understanding of advancement for newcomers to the profession through a regional Asia-Pacific lens. 

“It was a great introduction to the different facets of fundraising,” says Obordo. “I learned the frameworks for alumni reunions, advancement services, philanthropy 101, and networking. It was very useful.” 

Anna Bulgakova

Contributing across disciplines on a smaller team

Anna Bulgakova studied the humanities and social sciences as an undergraduate, but “was always curious about fundraising,” she says. In 2018, while earning her master’s degree at Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, she joined a group of phonathon callers for the alumni relations office, gaining firsthand fundraising experience. She then worked in the private corporate sector in Russia and Oman before returning to CEU in 2021. 

Now as Alumni Fundraising Coordinator, Bulgakova works within a small team of seven. She manages a large portfolio, including individual giving, prospect research, and contributes to program management and alumni scholarships. 

“It gives me amazing experience,” says Bulgakova. “I can learn about different aspects of advancement.” 

Last year, Bulgakova coordinated an emergency campaign to support CEU’s large number of Ukrainian alumni. (The university is located close to the country’s border.)  

“That is something I was very proud of because it was an urgent project,” she says. 

With the VCS scholarship she plans to attend the 2023 CASE Europe Annual Conference in August and is looking forward to learning more about fundraising and young alumni, as well as meeting colleagues from continental Europe. 

“It’s going to be my very first experience to meet advancement professionals outside of my alma mater,” says Bulgakova. 

Kim Schollenberger

A nontraditional background facilitates relationship-building  

Kim Schollenberger held several roles at Utah Valley University, U.S., before becoming Director of Donor Relations in December 2022. She started as Catering Manager in 2016—a role that allowed her to interact with individuals across campus, including those on the advancement team. Then, as Executive Assistant to the Associate Vice President of Development, Major Gifts, she observed the donor relations team writing thank you notes and celebrating donors.  

“I remember thinking, ‘This is the team having the most fun,’” says Schollenberger. 

When she became Director of Donor Relations, she was able to join a team she already knew because of her past experiences. She says, “What I’m most proud of is the relationships I’ve built.”  

Her nontraditional background also allowed her to approach her role with a fresh perspective: an openness to new ideas and not being committed to learned habits, she says. 

In the last three months, Schollenberger built individual engagement plans for 300 donors, and says mapping the plans on calendars really helped her team visualize their efforts. 

“I’ve engaged with UVU as a neighbor, employee, student, and donor,” says Schollenberger—who played in the fountain on UVU’s campus as a kid. She believes that as an advancement professional it’s important to have a true belief in your institution—and is proud that for her this connection is both personal and professional. 

In June, Schollenberger and her entire team are planning to attend CASE’s Annual Conference for Donor Relations Professionals, thanks to the VCS scholarship she received. She says her ability to go was the push leadership needed to send the whole team.