They’re widely curious, civic-minded, ambitious, optimistic. They’re imagining ways their work can better other people’s lives, and finding solutions. And they’re just getting started. Put most simply, the 3,800 Odyssey Scholars who have been part of the College’s distinctive financial aid program are UChicagoans.

But for many of them, the College would have been out of reach without the loan-free aid provided by their scholarships. Eliminating educational debt was Odyssey’s first target, a part of the program since an anonymous alumnus known as Homer launched it in 2007 with a $100 million gift and a $300 million fundraising challenge. At the time it was the largest gift in the University’s history, given, Homer said, in the hope that financial reasons would not keep talented students from attending the College and that they could “graduate without the siren of debt distracting them from taking risks and fulfilling dreams.”