Alumna: Provide a ‘Launch Pad’ for One Life, and Change Many

Through a blended gift of cash and a life insurance policy, UF graduate Teresa Leste created a scholarship that gives high-achieving students the opportunity of a lifetime.

It’s quite an understatement to say UF business alumna Teresa Leste worked hard in college. She worked three jobs on top of her extracurriculars, such as serving on the Student Judiciary Committee.

She had little extra cash for socializing after her monthly expenses were paid. But looking back, Leste says she wouldn’t change a thing.

“I loved it. It really felt like UF was the launch pad for my life,” said Leste, a Principal at Deloitte Consulting who leads the Life Sciences Biotech practice where she works with executives at innovative growth stage companies to accelerate growth and build at scale capabilities.

Leste said her college experience was challenging for sure, but nowhere near as difficult or complex as the experiences of UF’s Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars. These high-achieving students are the first in their families to attend college, and they come from households with average incomes well below the poverty line. In addition to tackling challenging coursework, they must also work to gain the needed cultural capital to succeed.

Inspired by their academic track record, ambition and perseverance, Leste contributed a few cash gifts that she later combined with her life insurance policy to fund additional Opportunity scholarships, which cover students’ financial needs and provides a support network. The program’s goal: Change the trajectories of students’ lives, and in turn, change families and communities.

“I’m inspired by what these students have achieved before attending UF, against significant odds,” said Leste, who lives in New York. “There's no better way for me to create a marketplace for talent and impact than to support access to education through the Machen Scholars program.”

Diversity of thought, culture and experience, she says, helps businesses thrive and grow, and makes societies richer. She’s seen the difference it makes in the corporate environment, and from her work in global markets from Europe to Africa, Latin American and Asia. “It’s important to look for and nurture hardworking talent from across our social ecosystems.”

Her hope for her gift: “More talented university students who, because of these scholarships, can create their own launch pad for life at UF, like I did.”

And while these scholarships may initially influence the path of one person, they will ultimately create impact beyond the individual. “This is a program,” she said, “that can have far-reaching societal and business impact.”

Learn more about the Machen Opportunity Scholars Program at www.opportunity.ufl.edu. Support the program at http://ufgive.to/MFOSgp20.