{"id":2126,"date":"2015-10-06T17:49:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T21:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/ebuckhor\/?page_id=1781"},"modified":"2015-10-06T17:49:48","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T21:49:48","slug":"changing-lives","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-fall2015\/features\/changing-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jim Cuminale \u201975, P\u201909 inspires others to give back, pay it forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Julia Chianelli<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Jim_Cuminale\"<\/a>
Jim Cuminale \u201975, P\u201909
Photo by The Defining Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jim Cuminale \u201975, P\u201909 fondly remembers working at his father\u2019s paper mill during his junior year at Trinity College and learning how to run the whole gamut of business: from manufacturing to sales to operations. Cuminale credits those formidable days with helping shape the person he is today. \u201cI learned my father\u2019s business approach and his pragmatism,\u201d says Cuminale. \u201cIt marked how I manage my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuminale was born in Amityville, Long Island, and lived there for eight years before he and his family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut. One of four children, Cuminale is proud of his Italian-German roots and his family. \u201cMy parents grew up during the Great Depression and didn\u2019t go to college,\u201d he says. \u201cI had an awesome family. My mother was a traditional stay-at-home mom. My father was my role model and hero, who built his own business, supported the family, and afforded me the opportunity to study at Trinity and Vanderbilt University Law School.\u201d<\/p>\n

GETTING PEOPLE TO THE STARTING LINE: PRICELESS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cuminale\u2019s passion and love for Trinity combined with a meeting with Director of Development Chris French inspired him to become more engaged with his alma mater. He began by joining the Board of Fellows on the heels of the Trinity graduation of his daughter, Jennifer \u201909. \u201cI witnessed firsthand what a Trinity education did for her,\u201d says Cuminale. Now she is working in corporate communications at Ralph Lauren in New York City and is pursuing an M.B.A. at New York University.<\/p>\n

\u201cScholarship struck me as being meaningful,\u201d says Cuminale. \u201cTo attract the best and the brightest students to Trinity is very important. To me, the first step in achieving this was to support the Summit Scholarship Program.\u201d Cuminale was one of the first contributors to the program since its inception in 2012. To date, he and other donors have helped to support 111 students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI later realized that it\u2019s even more appealing when you endow a scholarship,\u201d adds Cuminale. \u201cPresident Joanne Berger-Sweeney pitched the idea to me during lunch one day.\u201d In March 2015, Cuminale established the Cuminale Family Scholarship<\/em>. \u201cIt was a perfect thing to do. I wanted to provide students the same opportunity that Jennifer and I had. To get them to the same starting line would be fun to see. To witness it long term is priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuminale also is a donor to the Presidential Financial Aid Leaders initiative, a two-year fundraising effort launched last October. \u201cYou can have a permanent impact on Trinity College and others,\u201d he says. \u201cThe notion of a one-to-one match or lasting impact makes you want to do it. If you can\u2019t do it alone, I encourage you to gather some friends to help make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last March, Cuminale was the featured speaker at the annual Scholars Reception. During his remarks, he said that one of the reasons he gives back to his alma mater in the form of scholarship is because he is grateful for the Trinity education he received. View pictures of the Scholars Reception on flickr<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

A SOLID EDUCATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cuminale recalls his freshman year at Trinity when he had to take a career preference test. \u201cIt was clear to me that I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do,\u201d says Cuminale. Fortunately, his academic adviser at Trinity changed that and pointed him in the right direction. Cuminale pursued liberal arts instead of science, majored in history, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe breadth of education at Trinity prepared me to go to law school and become a good lawyer,\u201d adds Cuminale. \u201cThe legal profession requires constant learning. Trinity\u2019s rigorous liberal arts education \u2013 voluminous reading and writing and complex discussions with professors \u2013 was invaluable. I found law school easier than studying history at Trinity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy professors at Trinity gave me their personal time. They were truly interested in their students and cared about them.\u201d Cuminale recalls three professors who left an indelible mark on him. Among them was Glenn Weaver, who taught American history that focused on the American Revolution. \u201cProfessor Weaver was a unique character, and his lectures were out of this world,\u201d says Cuminale.<\/p>\n

He also remembers Edward W. Sloan, Charles H. Northam Professor of History, who taught at Trinity for 38 years. \u201cDr. Sloan was my adviser during the \u201970s who always encouraged me to do more. He saw something in me and advised me to go to Vanderbilt University Law School.\u201d Then there was Professor H. McKim Steele, a history professor who taught Middle Eastern religion. \u201cThese professors spent a lot of time with me and offered their pearls of wisdom,\u201d says Cuminale. \u201cI loved the collegial and collaborative environment that Trinity fostered. It paved my way to a successful legal career.\u201d<\/p>\n

In July, Cuminale became general counsel at PJT Partners, a financial services and mergers and acquisitions advisory firm in Manhattan. Prior to that, he served as chief legal officer at The Nielsen Company in Wilton, Connecticut, for nine years, where he managed a team of 45 attorneys worldwide and oversaw all legal affairs, including intellectual property, litigation, transactions, risk management, and mergers and acquisitions.<\/p>\n

ENDLESS REWARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cuminale stresses the value of offering support not only to your alma mater but also to the place in which you live. \u201cIt\u2019s an important part of my life,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to find the time to balance your career as well as to engage in your local community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuminale serves on Trinity\u2019s Board of Trustees and the board of the local ambulance service in his hometown of Darien, Connecticut. He has served as chairman of the Board of Social Services and the Board of Education in Greenwich, as chairman of the board of the American Red Cross Greenwich Chapter, as secretary of the board of the Greenwich Public Library, and as a member of the board of Greenwich Emergency Medical Services, the ambulance service in Greenwich.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you give back your time, treasure, and talent,\u201d he says, \u201cnot only do you make new connections and develop skills you never knew you had, but also the entire experience energizes you.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about the Presidential Financial Aid Leaders initiative, please contact the Advancement Office at (860) 297-2369.
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