Wayne State University’s Irvin D. Reid Honors College is celebrating its students, faculty, staff and alumni at ZTF3: Honors Unmasked, a special online event on Giving Day Thursday, April 7, at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. EDT. Like the previous two Zoom to the Finish events, the third installment focuses on raising funds for the college’s Finish Line Fund, which supports scholarships for eligible Honors seniors. RSVP now and watch live by going to honors.wayne.edu/finishline.

“The last two years have been challenging for everyone, which makes community all the more important,” said Honors College Dean John Corvino. “The Honors community of students, faculty and staff has been remarkably supportive and resilient, and this event celebrates that while highlighting the return to on-campus operations.”

ZTF3: Honors Unmasked is largely student-driven and includes live portions in addition to recorded video. The virtual event showcases the college’s students — along with faculty, staff and alumni — and features interviews, comedy, music, dance and more. There will be a live chat box during both showings to allow everyone watching to participate. The program will be broadcast at wayne.edu/live; there is no Zoom required. Check out a short preview of the event below.

In spring 2019, the Honors College intended to host a live event to launch the Finish Line Fund, but the onset of the pandemic changed those plans. Corvino and his team moved the festivities to an online platform. The new format proved a great way to reach a wide audience with an engaging program. This year, the Finish Line Fund provided support to nine Honors seniors, with hopes of funding more in the future.

“I was incredibly honored to be one of the recipients of the Finish Line Scholarship this semester,” said Joey Mattar, Honors senior and dance major. “It has been such a relief to have a little bit less focus on figuring out how to pay tuition, and more focus on the training that we’re doing here, the studying, the networking and, specifically, the attainment of job opportunities after graduation.”

To help inspire others, Honors College alumnus Bob Kelch, M.D., and his wife, Jeri, have made a $30,000 challenge gift that will be used to match gifts made on Giving Day. In doing so, a gift of $100 becomes $200, $500 becomes $1,000 and so on.

Corvino’s long-range goal is to make the Honors College tuition-free. He knows this is a big dream with an enormous price tag, which is why he is starting with targeted scholarships in the senior year — allowing students to focus on the transition to graduate school, professional school or career opportunities instead of worrying about additional debt.

Gifts of any amount can support the Finish Line endowment, which generates interest in perpetuity to support scholarships for Honors seniors. Larger gifts or pledges (more than $25,000) can be used to create named Finish Line Scholarships. Corvino’s own named scholarship, established on his 50th birthday, has been designated as a Finish Line Scholarship.

The Honors College continues to solicit Finish Line Friends to pledge a minimum of $1,000 annually for at least three years. These funds are immediately distributed to students, allowing the Honors College to award more Finish Line Scholarships than the initial endowment will support.

ZTF3: Honors Unmasked is free and open to all. For more information about the event, the Finish Line Fund, or to RSVP and watch the livestream, please visit honors.wayne.edu/finishline.