Their son, Justin, may have graduated in 2015, but that hasn’t stopped Susan and Masoud Katiraei P’15 from staying engaged as donors and volunteers. “I remember thinking, ‘Why should this end?’” says Susan.
The couple felt that the Harvard community embraced them from the beginning, and it made all the difference as non-alumni getting to know the College.
“Harvard did a really good job in allowing us to be a part of the experience,” Susan says, citing invitations to sit in on their son’s classes and to attend thought-provoking regional events.
“We love what we got out of it,” she says, “but, more importantly, we’ve seen what Justin has gotten out of it.” She and her husband have marveled at the advantages their son had at Harvard—access to top faculty, competitive internships, and extraordinary resources, like the Clay Telescope on the Science Center rooftop.
The Katiraeis make gifts of unrestricted funds to provide Harvard with the flexibility to dedicate resources wherever the College needs to, whether in supporting financial aid or securing new lab equipment. “Harvard is the most qualified to determine how to create the best experiences for its students,” says Susan. “We just want to have a small part in bringing these experiences to the next group of kids coming in. This is really why we give.”