This blog post is a repost of an article shared by EverTrue customer Oregon State University:

KAREN OLDFIELD’S ENGAGING STORY

Just this past week, the President of the Our Beaver Nation Advisory Board, Karen Oldfield reached and surpassed a rather unique milestone. She became our first donor to amass over 10,000 reactions (likes, comments, shares, etc.) on Oregon State-related Facebook accounts. She also became the first with over 1,500 comments to Beaver-related posts on the social media platform.

In days past, someone who was as connected to her alma mater as Karen is would chat about it on the phone, via email, in person or even by letter. Now, donors like Karen and her family have the immediate opportunity to voice their love for the Orange & Black.

Karen and her family are Beavers through and through. She, her two brothers, and her father all attended Oregon State. Her husband, Dick, was a student-athlete on the men’s track team at OSU. His four siblings also attended and his father was a professor at the university. Karen and Dick’s two children, Alex and Emily, and their daughter-in-law Ashley, all recently graduated from OSU as well. To say there is an affinity for Oregon State in the Oldfield household would be an understatement, but a question must be asked.

Why Facebook?

“It lets us know when our football game times have been determined, what color uniform the teams will be wearing for that game, parking information, any changes to the game day experience and how to watch the game on TV if you can’t get to Reser. I feel like Facebook serves our generation more so than Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat.  I think my generation is comfortable with it,” commented Karen.

Karen spreads the wealth in terms of interactions across all OSU-related accounts on Facebook. Since her first engagement with an Oregon State account on September 7, 2010, Karen has been engaging at a rate of just under four reactions per day. She has reacted to or commented on 15 Oregon State Athletics-based accounts with 25.9% of the reactions pointed towards Oregon State Baseball.

“I want all the student-athletes and all the teams to know that there are people out there that care about them and what they do.  The time they spend on the practice fields, doing their community service and making sure that their studies are top priority, sometimes a GO BEAVS, can give them a little boost,” Karen added. “And, not just the athletes, but their coaches, weight staff, trainers and all who support the student-athletes and OSU teams. If someone new to Facebook sees that I react a lot to OSU posts, maybe they will as well.”

Facebook is not the only way Karen engages with Oregon State Athletics. She has been a member of the OBN Advisory Board for the past eight years and recently was elevated to President. She and her family attend Beaver athletic and special events throughout the year, holding season tickets for three sports.

The Oldfield family’s generosity in terms of their investment in our student-athletes’ collective futures is immeasurable. They care about each and every one of them, no matter if they’ve met in person or not.

What’s not to    about that?