Many things have changed at The Texas Heart Institute (THI) since I roamed—or should I say dashed—among the cardiovascular operating rooms as a perfusion student.

While the caseload was robust and the days were long, I reflect with affection and gratitude on my perfusion student days and the lifelong connections I made through the School, especially the one that changed my life forever, my husband, Sal Guercio.

Sal and I worked as clinical instructors at the THI School of Perfusion Technology and enjoyed giving back to our future colleagues, many of whom became personal friends.

For more than 20 years, he did what he loved—mentored THI perfusion students. Sadly, we lost our Sal to ALS complications on March 1, 2020.

Last year, in honor of the THI School of Perfusion’s 50th Anniversary and as a lasting tribute to Sal and his dedication to his students, we established The Sal Guercio Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded annually to an outstanding Junior or Senior THI School of Perfusion student.

With our donations, the Scholarship will provide this $5,000 award for several years. The vision is to grow the Scholarship to sustain itself in perpetuity (i.e., an endowed scholarship) and offer more than one yearly award.

As a THI School of Perfusion Alumnus, I invite you to join our mission to build this Scholarship for our future colleagues through the THI School of Perfusion Technology Alumni Challenge.

The inspiration for the campaign came from the charitable efforts of the Class of June 2019, who have collectively donated $2,019 to the School on an annual basis since their graduation and have since committed as a class to donate annually.

We challenge each class to make a matching donation to add to your graduation year. We hope you will reconnect with your classmates and coordinate your class donation.

To make this as easy as possible, we have created a simple donation form that allows you to designate your class. Each member can donate to total your graduation year—or possibly even more cumulatively!

All classes who raise the amount of your graduation year will receive a commemorative gift and recognition at the Annual Perfusion Symposium in June.

Thank you!

Ann Guercio
Campaign Chair

 

Make Your Class Donation