Dave Tanner – Mentoring Students in The McConnell Foundation Scholars Program

Dave had a minivan with all the college stickers,” says Michelle Bird, a former McConnell Scholars Program recipient. “Anywhere you went to school, he would put your sticker on his minivan. He’s like the dad for all these students who don’t have traditional family support to fall back on, driving around with all these college stickers.”

Although the bestickered minivan met an untimely end, Dave Tanner continues offering fatherlike support to new college students as the senior scholarship program officer for The McConnell Foundation in Redding, CA. Upon the selection of the 2023 cohort, Dave will have personally mentored 500 students since 2007. Over the 15 years of the scholarship, the Foundation has awarded approximately $15 million. But these funds impact more than just young, aspiring individuals; each scholarship is an investment in the future of the North State.

The Foundation invests in youth who will benefit their communities

Unlike most scholarships, the McConnell Scholars Program awards funds based on character and care for others, rather than on academic achievement. Essentially, the Foundation invests in North State youth who will use their college degrees to benefit their communities and world around them.

As Dave puts it, “A college education increases access to power, money, and influence, so if you’re awarding that to someone who naturally cares about people, what are they going to do with that?” Although Dave does not participate in recipient selection, he trains a community selection panel to understand the Foundation’s unusual approach.

Dave provides a vital support for each student

Michelle Bird, one of the panel’s selections in 2008, graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara after receiving The McConnell Foundation Scholarship. Since then, she has traveled and worked internationally, interned in the White House for former First Lady Michelle Obama, and served military families and veterans through AmeriCorps. She currently works as a policy analyst for the US Government Accountability Office.

“I don’t know how I would have gotten to where I am without The McConnell Foundation and having Dave’s support,” Michelle says with gratitude. “That led me to college, grad school, then career, and my life now, so it all kind of comes back to Dave investing in me, believing in me, and giving me that support system.”

Dave traces his role at The McConnell Foundation back to his eight years as a fulltime dad. “A lot of what I do is based on that early experience with my daughter,” he says. “Every time we get a new crop of students, I think, okay, this is my kid now. I’m responsible for this child.”

Working with educationally disadvantaged students at Shasta College was also a pivotal experience for Dave. He found himself “working with a student population I hadn’t been exposed to before. Oh my gosh; I had no idea what people in poverty go through on a daily basis.” The experience was “a huge education,” particularly because his “preconceptions were challenged by people coming from a different socioeconomic background. That was awesome — and really hard.”

A humbling experience made him the perfect fit for directing the program

The humbling and eye-opening experience amplified Dave’s natural compassion and made him a perfect fit for directing the McConnell Scholars Program. Previously, the scholarship program offered separate funds for students going to four-year colleges and to “high risk” kids headed to community college. “Turns out they were the same,” Dave explains. “We had students achieving at high risk and high achievement at the same time.”

Dave recognized the “high risk” label actually designated people who had difficult life experiences or lacked the advantages of family support and financial means to attend college. “Over and over, I’ve seen students who, on paper, should not have been achieving, but who outperform the expectations. It’s pretty awesome,” he says.

Believing in people and lifting them toward their highest potential

Kate Mahar, associate vice president of innovation at Shasta College, has known Dave for over a decade. She describes him as “smart, low ego, believes in individuals and community, funny, accepts people where they are, non-pretentious, and a genuine servant-leader.” Having worked with Dave on promoting higher education, Kate attests to Dave’s practice of believing in people and lifting them toward their highest potential. “He treats people with respect, kindness, and curiosity,” Kate says. “He knows they are capable. He sees challenges as system issues instead of as character traits. He thinks, ‘Okay, this person sitting in front of me is incredible, so what’s going on here?’”

Dave attributes much of his perspective on higher education to his wife, who directs innovation and special programs at Shasta College. “Buffy does all this amazing work. I got to soak up a lot of her knowledge about higher education and student success.” He laughingly recalls their daughter Lily, now in her late 20s, exclaiming, “Can we have just one dinner where we don’t talk about college?” When they do manage to move their thoughts

beyond a university setting, Dave and Buffy enjoy singing together and playing bass and drums, respectively, in a local four-person band.

“Every student has the potential to make a significant contribution”

In summing up his work at The McConnell Foundation, Dave says, “The message I want to get out there more than anything is that every student has the potential to make a significant contribution to the community if we think about them that way. Don’t dismiss people just because they come from a different financial background or circumstances. People can really surprise you and do amazing things.”