How a former President’s Leadership Council chair has already helped generations of future PLC students just nine years after his own graduation.
“You’ll be surprised how many people are willing to help if you ask,” says Kyle Simpson ’11, reflecting on how important it is to find mentors to better navigate inevitable hard life decisions. “I benefited from the wisdom and encouragement of several mentors during my time at UCF. I knew I wanted to do the same for future UCF students, but in a way that felt authentic to me.”
Simpson has been helping ever since he was a student at UCF. A former chair of the President’s Leadership Council, (PLC), a selective student organization whose members serve the university by acting as a student advisory group to the president, Simpson has been giving generously to help fund scholarships for UCF students since the year after he graduated.
Endowed Scholarship Support
But this year he made an even greater commitment to future PLC students by establishing an endowed scholarship. Because endowment gifts are kept and invested, rather than spent, they provide support to generations of students through investment earnings, which grow gradually over time.
An Awe-Inspiring Group of Students
“It’s an awe-inspiring group of students,” Simpson says. “When I was on the Council (2009–2011), we had future doctors, future professional athletes, even a rocket scientist. I’m proud to have served on PLC and was thrilled to create an award specifically for those students.” He hopes the scholarship produces a group of recipients who feel connected to each other, to PLC and to the university.
An Exciting Time
Currently, Simpson serves as philanthropy chair of the UCF Alumni Board and sits on the finance committee of the UCF Foundation Board but wants to continue to support his alma mater in multiple ways, even though he’s now living in Philadelphia. “It’s an exciting time in UCF’s history and I’m thankful to still be connected,” he says.