Donald J. Truesdale BS '87, a partner at Goldman Sachs, spent his first two years at RIT taking an overload of classes and managing a McDonald's full time. 
 
He then spent six months each at IBM and Xerox on co-op, took an overload of classes every quarter and still graduated in four years. 
 
Two years later he began an MBA at the Wharton School of Business where, Truesdale admits, the experience wasn't nearly as challenging. "Whar-ton was more of a 'college' experience than RIT–and RIT was more like a 'job' experience. You appreciate (the RIT experience) much more in retrospect." 
 
Truesdale shows his appreciation for RIT in many ways: funding scholarships, serving as a trustee and coaching current students who are as hardworking as he was. "The positive side is that RIT pushes you very hard and makes you apply your skill; the downside is that the kids are tired. They work a lot." 
 
RIT students aren't the only young people to benefit from Truesdale's coaching. 
 
He combines his personal passion for sports and his desire to support children by volunteering with Harlem RBI, a New York City organization for inner-city youth.