Meet Drew Donahoe, former Youth Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP) Chair and a 2021 graduate of Sycamore High School. During his four years in the YEP program, Drew had many opportunities for leadership development and embracing philanthropy. Recently, we had a chance for a quick interview to see what he’s up to.

So where is Drew now, and did the YEP program impact his life after high school? Let’s find out!

Meet Drew Donahoe

Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

Hi, my name is Drew Donahoe, and I went to Sycamore High School, graduating class of 2021.

• (Q) How many years were you in YEP?
  Drew: I was in YEP for four years, was a grant group leader, and was Chair of the Executive Committee.
• (Q) Where are you now, and what are you up to?
  Drew: I am a student at Marquette University, WI. I am studying biomedical engineering with a concentration in biomechanics. In the fall of 2023, I’ll enter my junior year. I studied abroad in 2022/2023. I attended Saint Louis University – Madrid Campus. It was a fantastic experience overall. The greatest challenge was adjusting to some of the cultural norms there, especially because I’m not fluent in Spanish. My time there was rewarding on both an academic and a personal level. I was forced to embrace independence and learned to figure things out on my own daily. It brought me to a new level of self-reliance and problem-solving.
• (Q) What’s a recent accomplishment you are proud of?
  Drew: I am currently interning for Go Baby Go! Milwaukee, an outreach program consisting of a proud partnership between Children’s Wisconsin and Orthopedic & Rehabilitation Engineering Center at Marquette University through the joint department of biomedical engineering. The program provides battery-powered, ride-on cars (aka Power wheels) for children with mobility challenges. We add therapy switches and provide extra support on the vehicles based on a child’s needs. These custom cars are free for families to take home. My work involves helping collect fitting data then making the necessary modifications after building the cars.
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  2018 November YEP meeting

  (Q) What were your most significant takeaways from YEP, and how are you using them now?
  Drew: Definitely organization and analytical skills from my time as grant group leader and Chair for the Executive Committee. I used these skills in my travel, studying abroad, internship, work, and schooling. I learned the importance of community involvement and am now looking for better ways to serve my community. Community is where you live, not just where you’re from. In addition, I learned a lot about leadership in my four years of YEP. Stepping up into leadership positions and exercising good communication is something I am more comfortable with. My people skills and engagement went to a new level with YEP. I continue to build upon this in college and real-world opportunities.

• (Q) How are you currently (or plan to soon) giving of your time, talent, and treasure?
  Drew: I joined Marquette’s Biomedical Engineering Society and serve on the executive board in an internal outreach position. I am a physics lab teaching assistant and volunteer weekly as a mention/tutor at the local community center.
• (Q) Do you have a fun/favorite memory of YEP to share?
  Drew: One memory that stands out was my last year in YEP when I served as Chair. COVID guidelines were in place all around us. As an executive committee, we needed to figure out what to do with YEP that year. How do you take an in-person high school youth committee and still make it fun with all these guidelines in place? That was the big question we struggled with. We explored ideas and embraced a few to add interaction and fun to the guidelines. “On-the-fly planning” was new to us, and we came through with excellent results. Overall, it was a good skill to learn and prepared us for experiences like this in the future.

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