Title:Laura Center (C’13) and Jared Center (B’12): “I met my life partner at Georgetown, so I guess that’s important!”

What are your names, Georgetown schools, and graduation years?

Laura Center: My name is Laura Center (Fels). I graduated from Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences in 2013.

Jared Center: My name is Jared Center. I graduated from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business in 2012. 

How did your time at Georgetown change you both?

LC: I met my life partner at Georgetown, so I guess that’s important! Georgetown always felt so rooted in community.

JC: I met my wife at Georgetown through a mutual friend and we now have an 18-month-old daughter who will be hitting the Hilltop for the first time this summer. I also made great friends at Georgetown who are some of my closest friends 15 years later.

Tell us about some of your favorite Georgetown memories.

LC: It’s hard to pick just one memory but when I look back at my time on campus, the scenes that often come to mind are those early fall days when the campus is booming with new school year energy. The farmers market is set up on the lawn, students are scrambling to find their new classrooms, and there’s an air of excitement passing through everyone who enters the front gates. There’s also the happiness of being reunited with friends and peers after the summer apart and the Washington, D.C., weather letting you hold on to those warm days a little longer. There’s an anticipation of not knowing what the school year will bring, but being assured that come May you will have grown one step closer to the person you are becoming.

JC: One of the memories that sticks out as I flip through all four years at Georgetown is graduation weekend. The entire weekend was defined by time spent with friends and family. That year, I lived with my best friends in a townhouse right off 33rd and M Street, across from Georgetown Cupcake. It was two townhouses connected with a giant backyard and on the night of graduation, we hosted our families for an epic celebration. We invited our favorite Georgetown band to play, made posters for each guy in the house with notes from every other guy, and had too much fun. At the end of the night, we all made our way to the roof that overlooks Georgetown, and took it all in. We huddled up and each guy toasted to senior year and Georgetown, talking about how much we all meant to each other. It sounds corny now, but it was a memory I’ll never forget.

As a couple, you have made gifts every year in the past decade to the Georgetown Fund. In addition, you have given to the Center for Jewish Civilization (CJC) Current Use Fund. Why do you consistently give to Georgetown?

LC: We consistently give to Georgetown to build on the traditions that were there for us and contribute to them as a family. We hope to inspire future generations to reach for the stars. We want them to have the resources we were so fortunate to have within our grasp.

JC: Laura and I were so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend four years at Georgetown. My dad went to Georgetown Law Center and worked there for more than 35 years, and my younger brother went to Georgetown, so Hoya Blue runs in our veins. It’s so important for Laura and me to continue contributing to Georgetown to help give those kinds of opportunities to others.

What are your hopes for Georgetown’s future?

LC: I hope Georgetown can be whatever its community needs it to be. I mentioned earlier that each year there was this anticipation that who I was in September would evolve and grow by May. I hope all students have the ability to learn, grow, and be inspired at Georgetown and that the campus continues to be a pillar for the community. Georgetown attracts a unique and diverse student body and plays an important role in the D.C. area. By helping support the university’s resources my hope is that it can continue to support individuals in different ways and that all can experience that same evolution and development.

JC: I hope Georgetown continues to stay innovative and close to its student population. As new generations arrive on the Hilltop, it’s going to be more important than ever to understand the perspectives, motivations, and desires of these new generations. With a strong focus on intellectual curiosity, development of the whole person, and social impact, Georgetown will authentically be set up for success.

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