Major: Mass Communications

Hometown: Harrisburg, PA

Giving back to BU has always been important to Eric Pettis and his family. He began with a gift of ten dollars the year after he graduated and grew his support until he eventually created the Pettis Family Scholarship in May 2016.

“I’m a big believer in giving back to places that made you who you are,” Eric says. “I just hope my support will inspire others to do the same.”

He initially created the scholarship by providing an annual gift and funding it year-to-year to support BU students like himself, his brother Kurt ’80, and his daughter Taylor ’10.

Eric is the President of Comprehensive Financial Associates, where he manages the firm’s advisors and provides wealth management to clients. In that role, he sees first hand just how much more of a concern college expenses have become for parents.

“Tuition costs have increased so much since I was enrolled at BU,” Eric adds. “There was so much more support coming from the state back then that just isn’t there today. That’s why scholarships are so important.”

Eric recently decided to bring his scholarship up to the endowment level because he wanted to make it available for future generations of BU students. This was an important step for Eric to solidify his family’s legacy at BU, but more so because of the knowledge that the University and future students will always be able to count on that support.