“I feel like I’m coming back to my liberal education roots,” says Evan Holguin, associate director of planned giving for 51. The sentiment reflects a lifelong respect for the College, and a journey shaped by the Great Books, service to the Catholic Church, and a vocation dedicated to helping good missions flourish.
Mr. Holguin has long been an admirer of the College. As a high school student in nearby Santa Clarita, California, he was interested in the College’s Great Books program. However, wanting to go to college out of state, he never applied, instead opting to attend the University of Notre Dame’s Program of Liberal Studies.
A lover of literature, he hoped to gain a foundation in the Great Books to better understand modern prose, but he was — least initially — much less interested in the required philosophy courses. “I was dreading them because I thought philosophy was just the trolley problem and brains in jars,” he recalls. “But then I read Boethius and realized there were much deeper truths to be found through philosophy. I ended up loving it — ethics, in particular.”
While at Notre Dame, Mr. Holguin became a steadfast member of the campus’s historic Knights of Columbus council. He spent his four undergraduate years doing charity work in and around South Bend, growing his faith and leadership skills, and attending events such as the March for Life and World Youth Day. “I used to joke that liberal arts was my major, but my second major was the Knights of Columbus,” he laughs.
He continued his service to the Knights after graduation, moving to their New Haven, Connecticut, headquarters, where he held multiple managerial positions. He has also worked in planned-giving roles with EWTN and the Catholic Foundation of Rhode Island. His writing on charitable giving has been featured in Columbia magazine, Angelus, and Philanthropy Daily. “Over the years, I realized I’m best at doing the kind of background support work that helps a mission succeed. I’ve always wanted to focus my career on supporting good organizations that help to strengthen the Catholic community.”
Mr. Holguin, who lives in Connecticut with his wife, Rose, and their three children, travels the country, meeting the College’s friends and alumni. “I believe that everyone has one significant gift they are able to make in their lifetime,” he says. “It should be something very intentional, not just transactional — something that lets the giver grow in his own mission, ministry, and lifelong legacy, in addition to supporting an organization. The joy of my work is helping people define that gift, and I look forward to helping them support the educational mission of 51.”