“I have this feeling of belonging. It’s a special place.”

"I have this feeling of belonging. It's a special place."

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Friday, October 11, 2024

As a global Business and HR leader for nearly three decades, a portion of David Almeda '85's role involved attracting top talent to the organizations he served.He also worked to ensure that the firms created a culture that was welcoming and empowering, so new team members would feel valued as individuals and stay on.

Only recently, Almeda realized he was good at creating that sense of personal connection even in million- and billion-dollar organizations with tens of thousands of employees in part because of the culture of inclusion he experienced at Plymouth State.

He knows how it feels to get noticed just for being his own authentic self. "The culture that existed at Plymouth State-that feeling of connectedness and belonging. That's a special thing that doesn't exist in a lot of places," he says.

Almeda wasn't a student with a highly impressive GPA while at Plymouth. That came later, while earning his master's in HR at Rivier College and especially while studying for his doctoral degrees in business and education at the University of Pennsylvania's graduate school of education and The Wharton School.

"At Plymouth, I was working hard, trying to figure it out," he says. "Plymouth met me where I was. You weren't a number to the professors."

Almeda has a unique perspective on Plymouth State, having attended a state university, a catholic university and an Ivy League institution. At each institution, he found the same level of intelligence and strength of character. Yet, at other schools, Almeda often saw students driven to get a 4.0, lest they feel like a failure; each person was about his or her own success.

"At Plymouth, students were just as motivated to support and drive the success of the person sitting next to them as their own success. The mentality was totally different," he says. "It's part of what makes Plymouth what it is."

Along with earning a bachelor's in marketing, Almeda gained a cadre of close friends on campus as a member of Omega Omicron fraternity. He attended an Omega Omicron reunion in June, and he and his wife Erin frequently socialize with his fellow graduates and their wives, golfing, traveling and entertaining one another.

"And that's after 40 years," Almeda says. "That's Plymouth." He adds, "I still feel the same when I walk on campus today. I have this feeling of belonging. It's a special place for me and for a lot of alums that I'm still in touch with."

Almeda's philanthropy to Plymouth State began in 1987, only two years after he'd graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing. He started making regular gifts at amounts he could afford, and increased his support as his income could keep pace.

Today, Almeda is a major donor who has supported the Fund for Plymouth State, Panther Athletics, the Plymouth Opportunity Scholarship Angel Fund, and the Omega Omicron bench installation. Most recently, he made a major gift to the Hyde Hall Renovation to dedicate a new alumni room.

"Plymouth gave me so much," he says. "It's a privilege to be able to give back to the University and help current and future students experience the connectedness I felt and keep that going."

THE NEW HYDE HALL: 50 MORE YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

Plymouth State is renovating Hyde Hall, home of the School of Business, into a regional hub for collaboration across industries that will house PSU's renowned faculty and award-winning programs. The State and University System of New Hampshire have allocated $30 million to the project. Naming opportunities are available for partners who can help us reach our campaign goal of $8 million.

For more information, visit www.plymouth.edu/hyde, or contact Director of Development John Scheinman P'19, P'21G by phone at (603) 535-2805 or via e-mail at [email protected].

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