Judith Thames '73

Q. You established the Judith G. Thames Endowed Scholarship Fund at UCF. What motivated you to include the university in your estate planning, too?
A. The education I received from UCF as an older student and a single mom helped me to advance in my profession and to successfully support my kids. It was a very nurturing environment for a woman in my position. When my husband and I decided to retire in 1999, we wanted to find a way to express our appreciation to each of our universities for their parts in our success.

Q. When you think about the future of UCF–maybe 20, 30 or even 50 years from now–what do you see?
A. A university that cares about educating its students to meet the changing environment of professions in our communities. UCF has continually stepped up to the challenges of relevant programs and educational needs of today's student. I believe that will remain a focus. We have three grandchildren who have graduated from UCF and, hopefully, their children and grandchildren will be part of the university.

Q. How will your planned gift shape UCF's future and help make some of those visions possible?
A. My endowed scholarship focuses on the School of Social Work and on COHPA. Social work has been my foundation, and I am so impressed by both the research happening in aging studies (my specialty) and the creation of a viable program to prepare students for the community. I believe my gift will help with both these visions.

Q. What does it mean for you to be able to give back to UCF?
A. UCF changed my life and helped me believe in myself and my abilities to be a success in my chosen profession. It has done the same for my grandchildren (nursing, marketing, accounting). To be able to help future students to accomplish these same goals means the world to me.