Gift from Robin Famiglietti ’81 Acknowledges Wesleyan’s Contributions to her Life

Robin Famiglietti, 2nd from right, with her son, mother and daughter.

In recognition of the enormous impact Wesleyan has had on her life and career, Robin Famiglietti ’81 made a significant gift to the University on the occasion of her 25^th class reunion. The gift helped her class shatter the previous record for 25^th reunion dollars.

“Anything I can do to promote Wesleyan I am happy to do,” Robin said recently. “It is a fantastic institution, and it is in the business of improving people’s lives.”

That was certainly the case for Robin, who said that she came from “humble beginnings” and was the first in her family to attend college. Transferring to Wesleyan from a community college in the fall of her junior year, she was struck by the high intellectual caliber of her fellow students, as well as by the contrast between her educational and economic background and theirs. While others participated in sports and other activities, Robin cleaned houses to make ends meet. She also received financial support from the Etherington Scholarship, awarded to her as Class Valedictorian at Mattatuck Community College in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Today, Robin is vice president and region head of USA Funds Services. USA Funds contracts with Sallie Mae, the leading education-loan service provider in the country. Sallie Mae employs over 12,000 people, of whom only about 200 are officers of the company.

“I am fortunate to have achieved this level of responsibility,” Robin said. “Navigating in a corporate world is not always easy, but Wesleyan really gave me the confidence not only to hold my own, but to excel in a corporate world. “

Thinking back to her early days at Wesleyan, Robin said that she was initially intimidated by her fellow students, but stimulated by the learning environment she found here and by “the ability to question. I also realized,” she said, “that the students weren’t so different from me, for our common ground was a desire to learn and grow.”

Robin and Ralph, her husband of 26 years, have passed that desire on to their children, one of whom has two advanced degrees and works for a mutual fund company in Boston, while the other is an honors student at a preparatory school located near the family’s St. Petersburg, Florida, home. Another guiding principle that the Famigliettis have impressed on their children is one that Robin also traces back to her days in Middletown:

“Wesleyan drives home the message that if you don’t like the current environment, you are empowered to change it and make it a better place,” she said.

Robin’s 25^th reunion gift, which was triple-matched by her employer, Sallie Mae, will certainly help to make Wesleyan a better place.