Member Spotlight: Kim and Greg Uchimura

Posted on Friday, July 24, 2020

When students face unexpected financial hardships, Northwestern’s financial aid office is ready to help. And for Kim Peiffer Uchimura ’82, experiencing that support firsthand was a lifeline that she will remember forever.

Kim grew up in Norman, Oklahoma. She took to the flute early on, honing her skills while in high school, and spending two years studying with a University of Oklahoma flute professor. She intended to continue her studies as a first-generation college student in her home state. However, her plan changed when she met a recruiter for Northwestern at the Interlochen Arts Camp in the summer of 1976. “The flute professor, Walfrid Kujala, was the deciding factor for me,” Kim says. “He played the piccolo for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in addition to teaching at Northwestern, and was highly regarded in both places.” Kim was able to enroll at Northwestern as a music education major thanks to the financial help she received from student loans and from her parents.

While at Northwestern, Kim crossed paths—as friends—with her eventual husband, Greg ’77. Greg grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he had heard great things about the University from his family doctor and high school band director, both of whom were Northwestern alumni. He credits Honolulu’s “very active and organized alumni network” for luring him to Northwestern and says he was also motivated by his goal of living somewhere with snow. He enrolled in the School of Communication and graduated with a degree in communication studies.

After her sophomore year, Kim decided to switch her major to communication studies. At the same time, her parents were no longer able to help her pay for school. She wanted to stay at Northwestern so badly that she took a year off to work and save money. Once she was able to re-apply for student loans, she did so, but still ended up being $1,500 short of her expected budget. “When I discovered it, I went to the financial aid office in a panic, and I broke down in tears at the thought of not being able to continue. The aid officer took the time to calm me down, understand my situation, and submitted a request for an emergency grant that was approved, allowing me to complete my enrollment,” Kim says. “I’m not sure I would have ever finished at Northwestern if I had not received that grant.” The fact that the University helped her when she needed it most has stuck with Kim ever since, and is the foundation for why she gives back to Northwestern.

As NU Loyal platinum members with 32 consecutive years of giving, Kim and Greg support the School of Communication as well as the Northwestern Annual Fund, because they believe in Northwestern’s mission. “All of the amazing research and innovation that come from the University is exciting to see,” says Kim. “It also helps when you have a personal connection to the organization. I’m just idealistic enough to believe that I became a better person at NU because of the integrity of my professors, and their interest in the lives of the students they taught.” Greg also says that “it’s important to support the institutions that got you to where you are.”

Although they were dating other people when they first met, Greg and Kim kept in touch and eventually reconnected when Greg moved back to Chicago after getting his MBA at the University of Pennsylvania. They married on the Evanston campus, at the Howes Memorial Chapel near the Shakespeare Garden. After 17 years in the banking industry and another seven years of part-time seminary work, Kim became a pastor in 2005. She currently serves as a United Methodist pastor at a small church in Bradenton, Florida. After a 30-year career at Verizon, Greg is a CPA in private practice and the chief financial officer for RKC Site Solutions.

As it has in the rest of the world, COVID-19 has impacted the Uchimuras’ communities and lives. Kim’s church quickly stopped public worship in mid-March and started providing online services. She says that so far, it’s gone well. One of the best changes, Kim says, is that she now has more time to call people to check in with them. The hardest part has been the inability to visit people in the hospital or hold any funerals. “Part of comforting people at such times is touch—holding a hand or giving a hug—and our folks miss that closeness, particularly those who live alone.” As for Greg, his job was already based from home most of the time. “The company I support as CFO actually has been busier due to internet providers needing to increase their capacity so quickly,” he says.

The Uchimuras have three grown children and four grandchildren who live nearby. Kim still plays the flute—including at church. Greg also has a musical side and he plays and sings in a couple of different community musical organizations.

In the future, Kim hopes that “Northwestern will continue to live up to its mission, and also strive for the ideal of preparing students to fulfill their dreams and goals. We believed in the University enough to begin giving back, and we expect to be committed for good.”