Page 7 - Impact - Spring 2021

PROFESSOR JERRY COHEN WITH STUDENTS IN THE GREENHOUSE.
GENEROSITY
DRIVEN BY DATA,
CFANS ALUMNA PURSUES HER PASSION WITH PURPOSE
Kehinde Bello is passionate about the connection between data analysis and economics, especially how it can benefit the well-being and financial capital of communities of color.
Today, Bello (BS Applied
Economics, ’20) is applying
that ambition in her role as a
financial analyst with Public
Financial Management (PFM).
She says her CFANS experiences prepared her well for success, citing her Entrepreneurship Fundamentals for Value-Added Rural Businesses class as particularly rewarding.
“I had to come up with a product, business plan, pitch video, and presentation,” she said. “It taught me to think outside the box and complete a project by searching for resources on my own. This helped prepare me for my role at PFM, as I continue to learn new concepts about the inner workings of public finance.”
At CFANS, Bello learned valuable prioritization skills and successfully balanced academics with athletics as a member of the Gopher Women’s basketball team. And as part of her Applied Economics coursework, she analyzed and interpreted real-world data in meaningful ways.
“I believe data allows us to see trends, and economics help us learn what could be driving trends and patterns. I ultimately want to help change patterns that don’t serve minority communities, particularly in the areas of equity and financial capital,” said Bello. “My experience at CFANS put me in rooms with other like-minded people from different parts of the world, which enlightened me on the many ways I could go about pursuing this passion.”
GROWS
GENEROSITY
Ask Jerry Cohen, PhD, a distinguished professor in the Department of Horticultural Science and CFANS donor,
why he gives, and he'll say he was “hired into a tradition
of generosity.” In 2000, he came to Minnesota to fill the Bailey Chair in Environmental Horticulture, a position made possible through a donation from the Gordon and Margaret Bailey family. Though he’s humble about it, Cohen’s giving to CFANS speaks volumes.
Cohen worked his way through college and graduate school. “I started working in the lab as a freshman — and never left,” he said. With these experiences at heart, Cohen and his wife Sue sought opportunities to honor his parents by helping students.
They began with the Horticultural Science Evadna Fern Cohen Fund, honoring his mother by providing refreshments for the department’s seminar series. He continues to grow the fund through regular payroll deductions and stresses that he didn’t make a large donation to start it. “Anyone can make a difference. Be a catalyst for the change you want to see,” he said.
His father Herman wanted to attend graduate school for horticulture, but it wasn't an option for him after World War II when restrictive admissions practices created significant barriers for Jewish students. Cohen turned his dad’s disappointment into opportunities with The Herman Charles Cohen Dissertation Improvement Fund to help horticultural science graduate students.
The Cohens also created one of the first designated lactation spaces in Saint Paul; supported a redesign of the lights in the Alderman Hall lobby study space; and donated to the Itasca Campus Center building. "You do not have
to be wealthy to see a need and make a difference. Seek out what you value, then keep your eyes and ears open to opportunities to do something,” he said.
COURTESY PHOTO