From Regis Hallways to the Ends of the Earth: How Two Alumni Are Giving Back Across Generations

When Steve Wincor arrived at Regis University as a freshman, he planned to study biochemistry. He couldn't have known the small Jesuit institution in northwest Denver would shape the rest of his life, leading him to change his major, launch a career managing a federal prison data processing office, and meet the woman he would marry.

That woman was Maureen, who walked onto Regis's volleyball team as a sophomore transfer from Las Vegas, where she had played both basketball and volleyball in high school. She came to Colorado seeking an education degree, a little independence and the chance to ski. She found all three and Steve.

"Regis allowed her some independence away from Las Vegas as well as making new friends," Steve said of Maureen's decision to enroll. For his part, Steve relied on scholarships and loans to make attendance possible, a fact neither of them has forgotten.

Today, Steve and Maureen Wincor live in the San Jose, California, area, where they have spent decades building careers, raising two sons, and traveling to more than 70 countries. They are also among Regis University's most quietly committed benefactors, having established an endowed scholarship to support Regis University’s student-athletes, with preference to students in the Regis volleyball program – the same team that helped shape Maureen's college experience more than 40 years ago.

A Tale of Two Paths

Steve entered Regis planning to major in biochemistry but found himself drawn to political science, eventually pairing the major with minors in chemistry and philosophy. He worked on the university's computer systems, then a timeshare operation housed in the basement of the library and spent his senior year interning in the data processing shop at Denver's Federal Correctional Institution.

After Regis, he joined Champlin Petroleum in Aurora before moving through a series of computer-focused roles that ultimately took him and Maureen to Northern California. He spent years as a consultant before landing at Lockheed Martin, where he eventually rose to chief systems architect, working across a wide portfolio of programs before retiring.

Maureen's path was equally purposeful. She graduated with her teaching credential, earned a master's degree in education, and taught kindergarten through fourth grade at multiple schools in the San Jose area across a career that spanned two states. Even in retirement, she continues to offer guidance to fellow educators.

The two married in 1982. They have two sons: Mikael, a music teacher in Los Gatos, California, and Richard, a manager with Santa Clara County Parks.

The Professors Who Stayed With Them

Both Wincors speak warmly about the faculty who shaped them. For Maureen, education professor Judy McClure was a guiding force, someone who not only prepared her for the classroom but also fostered personal growth. Steve recalls the influence of professors, including Dr. Terry Schmidt, Dr. Ozog, Father Sheeran, Father Tueth and Dennis Gallagher, among others.

"I had a very well-rounded experience from interacting with various Jesuits who provided spiritual reflections and growth," Maureen said.

That Jesuit formation, the hallmark of a Regis education, has stayed with them. Steve went on to serve on a variety of boards, committees and advisory panels in the San Jose area, applying the political science and ethical reasoning he developed at Regis to civic life in Northern California.

An Endowment Born From Experience

The Wincors' scholarship at Regis grew from Maureen's own story. As a walk-on volleyball player, she experienced firsthand the way the sport could anchor a student's college experience, providing community, competition and belonging. She also noticed that not every prospective athlete who wanted to play could afford to attend Regis, and that full athletic scholarships were not always available to bridge that gap.

"I noticed that there were others that would have loved to join the team but could not afford Regis and may not have the ability to qualify for a full scholarship," Maureen explained.

The Wincors’ endowment is now designed to outlast the donors themselves. They have established a parallel endowment at the University of the Pacific's Conservatory of Music, where one of their sons studied, supporting jazz students there as well.

“Through the endowments it allows us to impact students past our lifetimes," Steve said.

A Life Spent Exploring

In retirement, the Wincors have transformed Steve's love of photography into a global pursuit. Decades ago, they each drew up a list of the top 10 places they most wanted to visit. Many destinations overlapped. That shared sense of curiosity has since carried them to the Arctic, Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, the Falklands, across Europe and South America and throughout Africa.

"So many memorable images," Steve said simply.

After retiring from Lockheed Martin, Steve opened a home-based travel agency, which he continues to operate. The business has given the couple a framework and frequent inspiration for their explorations. They favor expedition-style cruises that immerse travelers in local culture rather than large-scale itineraries that skim the surface. Steve has visited all 50 U.S. states. Maureen is catching up.

Closer to home, the couple loads their two standard poodles, certified therapy dogs who work throughout the Bay Area into a compact camper and heads to national parks across the country. The poodles, for their part, appear to have inherited the Wincors' taste for travel.

Steve's hobbies extend further still: rock hounding, jewelry making, certifying therapy dogs, and perhaps most unexpectedly authoring a children's book.

Still Connected to Regis

Despite living more than 900 miles from Denver, the Wincors maintain ties to Regis. Scholarship officers have visited them in California over the years. They receive university publications and follow institutional news. And recently, Maureen began receiving updates on the volleyball program directly from the coaching staff, a small gesture that carries no small amount of meaning for a former walk-on who loved every moment she spent on the court.

"I loved playing with a great team," Maureen said.

It is a sentiment that, after 44 years of marriage and a lifetime of shared adventure, still seems to apply, just on a somewhat larger scale.