Reach Your Peak to celebrate student success

Matt Seay never thought he would write a check to help someone else go to college.

But Seay, a member of the UCCS class of 2011, did just that recently, enclosing his check for $100 in a thank you note to Bruce and Anne Shepard of Colorado Springs, the founders of the Reach Your Peak Scholarship Program.

“I possessed a strong desire to make my family proud and establish a direction for my life, but my passion to succeed was compromised by my family’s financial position,” Seay wrote. “This predicament led me to interview for the Reach Your Peak program. It was my shot, and I had to take it. Thank you for opening the doors to make this opportunity possible. You have truly blessed me and my family. Because of your help, I succeeded.”

At UCCS, Seay, of Colorado Springs, earned summa cum laude honors and a job as a financial analyst for an aerospace company. While he is looking ahead to a successful career, he will soon take a moment to look back.

Seay will share his story with current Reach Your Peak Scholarship students at 5:30 p.m. March 7 reception at the UCCS GOCA 121, 121 S. Tejon. The event is designed to celebrate seven UCCS students who graduated in December and to give the 29 students set to graduate in May a final push.

In all, more than 1,100 students have graduated because of the Reach Your Peak program since it was founded in 2000 by Bruce Shepard, an influential real estate developer and community leader, and his wife, Anne. This year, the program supports 108 students.

Shepard plans to attend the event to share his perspective and his reason for supporting the Reach Your Peak Program through the CU Foundation.

“They are the future,” Shepard says frequently when referring to UCCS students. “Investing in the future is the only sure bet.”

Seay and Shepard will be joined by Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak and other community leaders anxious to learn more about the Reach Your Peak program and its students. Shockley-Zalabak frequently describes the students as “high-potential, low-income” who often balance school with work and family responsibilities. The $3,000 annual Reach Your Peak Scholarship allows the students to concentrate on school while continuing to work part-time, a program requirement. Along with financial assistance, scholars get personalized mentoring and form one-on-one relationships with program donors.

“In the U.S., there are approximately 13.9 million unemployed citizens—and I am not one of them,” Seay wrote. “The Reach Your Peak program gave me the opportunity to focus on academics and engage myself in the community. It gave me the edge to succeed in even the toughest of economic times.”

For more information about the Reach Your Peak Scholarship Program, visit http://www.uccs.edu/ryp.