KATE OSTERMAN ’97 MAKES IRA GIFT TO SUPPORT THE FUTURE OF MISS PORTER’S

It was January 1993 when Kate Osterman ’97 came to Farmington from her home in San Jose, California, to take a look at Miss Porter’s School. Her mother had outfitted her with new boots and a winter coat, but the California girl made a strategic miscalculation in the New England winter: “I walked out of the dorm with my hair wet, and it froze to my head,” she recalled with a laugh.

But the visit went well, and “in January, in the snow and the ice and the gray, I fell in love with Miss Porter’s. I got in the car and said, ‘Mom, I really want to go here.’ ”

Twenty-five years later, Ms. Osterman credits Miss Porter’s School with giving her the confidence to pursue a career in fundraising. She is now the managing director of development for the Harvard College Fund and holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

“I was terrified when I arrived as a freshman,” she remembered. “I had very little self-confidence, and Farmington gave me that. It’s in the air, it’s in the water … you pick it up and you learn it, and they encourage and foster it.” She credits the courses she took—particularly in art history—and the exposure to girls from different cultures and backgrounds with preparing her well to interact with people from all walks of life.

Ever since graduation, Ms. Osterman has remained closely connected to the School. She’s been her class rep for 25 years and has also served as co-president of the Alumnae Board, noting, “I always tell people that Farmington gets my time and Farmington gets my money.”

A few years ago, when consolidating her retirement accounts, she decided to name Miss Porter’s as a beneficiary of her IRA. “Making the School a beneficiary of your retirement account is one of the easiest ways to provide philanthropically for the School,” she said. “Most of the time, you just log on and identify the charity you wish to benefit.”

Her planned gift is unrestricted because, she said, “I put faith and trust in the people who will be in leadership positions that they will know what’s best for the School.”