About the AuthorPatricia Talbot( CEO and Co-Founder )

Patti cultivates homegrown changemakers prepared to step into their power and work with others to create the world they want to live in.  Get in touch to find out how you can grow the social changemaker in yourself and those you serve with Blue Roads Changemaker YOU. 

In her role as Senior Director of Major Gifts in Intercollegiate Athletics at Virginia Tech, Terry Bolt has learned how to thrive and create meaningful change in what is usually a male-dominated industry. Along with her “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World”, Terry shares her wisdom and tips to help women come out on top without sacrificing their principles. 

Check out this episode of “On Your Own Terms,” via video, podcast, and by catching up with the summary below!

Homegrown Terry Raised in Hot Springs, Virginia, Terry Bolt is the third of three daughters. The doctor incorrectly thought she would be born a boy. Her parents didn’t have a girl name prepared so they named her “Terry Gale Bolt,” the same name they would have named a son. 

 

So that's how I have Terry with a ‘Y’ because they had not thought about any girl's names because I was going be their boy!

Terry’s father graduated in 1952 from Virginia Tech and Terry proudly displays his bugle in her office as a tribute to him.  She followed her father's footsteps to his alma mater where she graduated in 1982 with a degree in marketing management.

Solution-Focused TerryIn the late 80s, Virginia Tech athletics was looking to start a booster club. Terry got involved and was quickly nominated to be president of the first “Hokie Club” to support intercollegiate athletics. In her role, she worked a lot with the Women's Basketball team.  

We raffled off a Honda CRX and raised $23,000 for the program. While we were doing that as volunteers, we only had about 10 people working on the project and tickets were $2 a piece. You can imagine how long that took!

For Terry, the work was exciting. This was her first introduction to working in athletics and she was eager to dive deeper. Terry realized that there were better ways to raise money than raffles as it required so much work for small rewards.

In 1989, the Hokie Rep Program was founded to help increase long term membership in the Hokie Club. Terry brought in 36 new members herself.  She was nominated for the prestigious McEvor Award to recognize her hard work.  However, during the award ceremony, something ironic happened. The presenter had heard many great things about Terry but he had never met her. 

All the people in the room knew me except for him. He's up there talking about this guy that did such a great job. He assumed I was male! When I walked up there, he was speechless. .

She gave the fellow a little kiss on the cheek just to bring home the point to which everyone had a great laugh.  

After that Terry continued to bring in members every year and was a great asset to Hokie athletics as a volunteer.  So much so that she was asked to join the staff of Intercollegiate Athletics in 1994. 

She remembers being told, We never expected to hire you, but you blew us away in the interview. 

I remember being asked if I thought it was going to be fun. When I responded, "I do", my longtime mentor, John Moody said, "Well just wait till you ask somebody for a million dollars."
And I'm like, "Yeah, it's gonna be fun when they say YES!"

It's no wonder they hired her! 

Terry's Patchwork

Terry's patchwork revolves around the many people from diverse backgrounds she's worked with over the years, from the donors, to the athletes, to the fans. Terry makes it her business to be as helpful as she can wherever she can. 

She recently met a young woman interested in learning more about her line of work so Terry took her under her wing.  Mentorship is a role that comes naturally to Terry as she hopes to pass on the skills and goodwill that have been bestowed upon her by many.  She's mentored women and men, many who have thrived under her guidance and moved on to other programs.  Through it all, she works hard and carries on, putting a high priority on relationships. 

This way of being serves her well.  She's been promoted time and again and people come back to her when they need guidance on the best next steps. 

Changemaker Terry 

Terry’s line of work could feel transactional as often she is raising funds for scholarships and major projects.  But Terry makes sure this is not the case. While some donors might even expect to write a check and be ignored the moment the check clears. Terry has a different perspective. For her, she sees the person as the priority. She recognizes the value of building positive relationships that last a lifetime. 

The relationships that I have with people are just tremendous. My portfolio has changed some through the years, of course, but I never lose anybody because I still have the relationship. They know they can always call me and I'm going to take care of them.

Terry has learned to work with anybody regardless of gender or background.  When it comes to building meaningful relationships with her donors, Terry says much of it comes naturally to her. She takes the time to see people where they are.  

That includes looking for opportunities to help and offering guidance from her own experiences.  Since she battled breast cancer, that help has included support for others facing their own health challenges. 

I think if more people would reach out that have been through an experience like that, it can make a difference in a lot of lives.

Wherever she is, Terry looks for ways to help. 

If I see somebody struggling just getting in and out of the car or just getting something off a grocery shelf, I help. I just watch for ways to help people.”

Hard work, commitment to people and commitment to her values are what drive Terry. While it can be tough working in a male dominated industry, she says integrity is what gets you ahead. To her, not everything is a competition. The goal isn’t to outshine your teammates, but to stand out as a result of your contributions. 

Terry Bolt can be found on LinkedIn and on Facebook as “tbolt2”.  Or you can email her directly at tbolt@vt.edu.

I'd love to hear from you. I love to help women. I always have. We can do whatever we want. We just have to make up our minds and do it. Just persevere and work hard and good things will happen.

Terry's experiences and efforts advance several of the Sustainable Development Goals starting with Goal #5 – Gender Equality. Her success in a male dominated industry is no small feat, especially with the grace that she has maintained in her position. 

You'll see themes related to Goal #10 – Reduced Inequalities, #8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, and #16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions in her message as well. 

What about you?  I hope you'll get in touch to let us know what YOU and people you know are doing to realize these Global Goals by the year 2030.  We can sure do it if we all work together and take our place in the world as Changemakers! 

CHECK OUT our CHANGEMAKER YOU course to help you get started today! 

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