ßÏÀÖÔ°

December 6, 2018
18-244

Jessica Pope
Communications and Media Relations Coordinator

Kimberly Cannon, Graduate Assistant

Scholarship to Benefit Students Involved in Greek Community

VALDOSTA — The Kevin Klepper Greek Leadership Award and Scholarship was recently established to recognize an outstanding student in the ßÏÀÖÔ° Greek community.
 
The Kevin Klepper Greek Leadership Award and Scholarship will first be awarded in April 2019 to a rising senior who is active in ßÏÀÖÔ°’s Greek community. Members of the Greek community who have a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA are eligible to apply.
 
The scholarship recipient will receive $1500 — $750 for the spring semester and $750 for the fall semester.
 
The scholarship was named in honor of ßÏÀÖÔ° alumnus Kevin Klepper, who was a member of the Delta Rho Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order. Klepper, who now lives in South Carolina, graduated from ßÏÀÖÔ° in December 1998 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in speech communication.
 
In 2007, Klepper was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system in which the body’s immune system incorrectly attacks healthy tissue.
 
Following this diagnosis, Klepper’s fraternity brothers organized a golf tournament in 2008 —Scrambling Fore the Cause — as a way to support Klepper by raising awareness for Multiple Sclerosis along with raising money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to help find a cure for this disease. The annual golf tournament, held on St. Simons Island, has raised more than $100,000.
 
Walter Peacock, ßÏÀÖÔ° development officer, said the ßÏÀÖÔ° Alumni Association became involved in Scrambling Fore the Cause several years ago. He said a couple hundred ßÏÀÖÔ° alumni participate in the tournament each year.
 
The Kevin Klepper Greek Leadership Award and Scholarship, established by the ßÏÀÖÔ° Alumni Association, was inspired by the act of alumni supporting their own through creating and participating in the Scrambling Fore the Cause golf tournament.
 
The tournament will now serve as a way to jointly fundraise for Multiple Sclerosis research and for the scholarship.
 
Klepper said he hopes the scholarship will alleviate some of the financial burden placed on a student’s shoulders.
 
“I really hope this scholarship allows someone to go to college and not worry about needing a full-time job at the same time,” he said.
 
Students interested in applying should visit the Office of Greek Life in Student Union Room 2102 or call (229) 333-5674 to learn more or to pick up a scholarship application. The deadline to submit all application materials to the Office of Greek Life is April 1, 2019.
 
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