Donald T. Rave '50
Donald Rave proudly recalls being one of the first generation of students to enter Queens College in 1946. “My wife Patricia and I both cherished the gift of the publicly-subsidized education,” he explains. A Political Science major, Donald went on to New York University Law School, and built a successful law practice on Long Island. Patricia, a Psychology major who graduated from QC the same year he did, worked as a paralegal in his firm.
Today, one of his four sons, Donald. Jr., a SUNY Stony Brook graduate, practices alongside him. “We followed the tradition of public education with our sons,” Donald Sr. says proudly. “Ironically, most of our grandchildren went on to attend Ivy League schools – which I guess is a testament to two generations of public education!”
Why I Give
Donald and Patricia Rave returned to campus in June 2000 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation. “I felt rewarded to witness the tradition on campus of the many students from less affluent backgrounds who are today’s trailblazers for their families,” he notes. Sadly, Patricia passed away in 2004, but Donald pledged a bequest in her name as an unrestricted gift to the College. “Any gift I give to Queens College is an expression of our gratitude for what we received.”