Little Rock couple’s $37,000 gift endows business scholarship

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 15:00:36 +0000

University of Arkansas at Little Rock business and finance students can now look forward to an additional scholarship to help them complete their dream of finishing a college education, thanks to a generous gift from a community-minded Little Rock couple. ��Henry “Hank” Kelley Jr. and his wife Stephanie have donated $37,000 to the A.P. Vibhakar Endowed Scholarship, named in honor of Dr. Ashvin Vibhakar, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s long-time Joe. T. Ford Chair of Finance. ��“I am touched and honored to have this scholarship endowed in my name,” Vibhakar said. “I am thankful to Hank and Stephanie, who I consider to be my close friends and family, for their gift. Hank was one of my MBA students in the 1980s, and having a past student honor me this way gives me the sense that I have a made a difference in the community.” Chancellor Emeritus Joel Anderson created the scholarship in 2009 with a $5,000 gift, and the Kelleys’ donation brings the scholarship’s endowment to $50,000. Now that the endowment has reached that level, the scholarship will be awarded annually to a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock minority student majoring in international business or finance. ��Hank Kelley and Vibhakar are both members of the . Kelley, incoming president of Rotary 99, said his new responsibility led him to understand how important higher education is to the future of Little Rock.

�� Dr. Ashvin Vibhakar

“The scholarship that Stephanie and I funded is a recognition of Ashvin Vibhakar’s service to his students and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock,” Hank Kelley said. “We share membership in Rotary 99 of Little Rock with many other members of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community, and Stephanie and I know Little Rock’s trajectory is directly tied to having a student-focused research university in our city. We know no better way to express our appreciation to Ashvin and Diane as friends than to help fund this important scholarship in his name.” Chancellor Andrew Rogerson, also a Rotarian, said the university is indebted to Hank Kelley and other donors like him in central Arkansas who understand the importance of helping ��Vlog��ý Little Rock thrive.�� “Hank and Stephanie are pillars of the community who have given their hearts and souls to Little Rock,” Rogerson said. “Their latest gift to support business scholarships is yet another investment in the future of this university that will help us cultivate future leaders in central Arkansas.” ��Hank Kelley is the CEO, partner, and executive broker in his brokerage and property management firm, . He received an MBA from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, both with honors. In addition to his Rotary membership, Kelley is involved with the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Foundation, Baptist Health Foundation Board, Fifty for the Future, and the Board.�� Stephanie Kelley works as a Pilates instructor, coach, and mentor in the community. She is a graduate of Mount St. Mary Academy and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where she and Hank met. The couple has four children and nine grandchildren.�� Hank and Stephanie Kelley (photo above right) have endowed a scholarship in honor of Dr. Ashvin Vibhakar (photo above left), chair of finance at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student to participate in Transplant Games of America after kidney transplant

Janea Snyder — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 16:36:13 +0000

Anthony Freeman sprints around the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock track and field and appears the epitome of health.��Few would know that he spent seven years on dialysis after losing both kidneys. A kidney transplant in 2015 gave him a new lease on life – one that he’s determined to not take for granted. On Aug. 1, the 26-year-old ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student leaves for Salt Lake City, Utah – on his first airplane trip – where he will participate in the 2018 taking place Aug. 2-7. He will compete in several competitions, including the 100 meter, 200 meter, 5K, and 1800 meter races as well as a basketball tournament.�� Once a high school football stand-out, Freeman has always enjoyed competition. He ran track and played football and basketball at North Pulaski High School. Freeman got used to playing through the pain of sport injuries. But by 16, he was suffering pain that couldn’t be ignored. He was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure and both kidneys had to be removed. “The year I was looking forward to being scouted was my junior year, I had to start dialysis,” he recalled. Faced with the reality of his health and the fact that sports were over, depression set in.��He dropped out of high school and starting working. He left home, sleeping on the floors of friends, and at times, found himself homeless. “I was heavy-hearted at the time, and I realized I was just being defiant,” he said in retrospect. “I realized I was gonna die.” In 2014, he decided to get back in the game. He returned home and completed a GED through . He enrolled at in 2015, where he was selected to be a student ambassador, was named an Academic All-Star, and received the Rotary Club 99 Scholarship. He was three days into College Algebra and Composition II classes, when a transplant became available. “They told me it would take three to six months to recover,” he said. Friends and family urged Freeman to quit school, but he didn’t want to lose the momentum he’d built up. He stayed in school, finishing the semester with a 4.0 GPA. “All it took was discipline,” he said. “I shut out everything. I knew that if I could do this, I could complete this degree with a 4.0.” After earning an associate degree in 2017, Freeman transferred to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, where he is working toward a Bachelor of Science in Architectural and Construction Engineering. However, his college work and an internship at Woods Group Architects in Little Rock have helped him find his true passion: architecture. He hopes to eventually get a master’s degree in urban planning. For now, Freeman is working at the , assisting with programming and events, and he is also a youth ministry leader at Runyan First Baptist Church in North Little Rock.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student Anthony Freeman strength trains for the Transplant Games of America, where he will compete in several track events.

Between working part-time and taking summer classes, Freeman manages to keep up a disciplined athletic training schedule for what will be his second Transplant Games.��He completed in the 2016 games in Cleveland, not quite a year after his transplant. “I underestimated the competition then. I didn’t know how intense it would be,” he said. “This year, I’m not taking it so lightly.” The Vitamin Shoppe in North Little Rock, where Freeman works, provides him with a trainer and a sport nutritionist to help him stay on track. He keeps two food journals and uses the Yazio app to track his dietary intake. While training, he sticks to a high-protein, carb-rich, low-fat diet, consuming 3,000-5,000 calories daily. A typically training breakfast includes three whole grain waffles, six slices of turkey bacon, turkey sausage, a banana, mixed fruit, a protein shake, a multivitamin and a fish oil supplement. Lunch is typically three salmon filets, mixed rice, asparagus, protein chips, bread and butter, half a protein shake, and another vitamin. For dinner, he has two chicken breasts with a baked potato, corn, greens, asparagus, and mixed fruit. He exercises six days a week, alternating workouts of power strength training ��– with bench presses, deadlifts, squats, and leg presses – and speed training, such as bleacher runs, bear crawls, and 80 meter runs. He also does stretching and core work on alternate days, with Sundays set aside for rest. His health is the best it’s been in years. “I know so many people who die because of complications with their transplant,��and here I am a healthy young person who doesn’t look like they’ve ever suffered from dialysis,” he said. “I can’t believe the hurdles I’ve overcome to get to this place.” In Salt Lake City, Freeman will be running in celebration of his life – and in honor of the young donor who gave him a new lease on life. Freeman knows little about his donor – only that the donor was 22 years old. The (ARORA)�� protects the privacy of donors’ families and contacts families only when they are ready to connect with donor recipients. Freeman recently wrote a letter to his donor’s parents and hopes to one day meet them. “I want them to know how I’ve evolved from being a kid to being an adult and an athlete and being in a college program I never dreamed of,” he said. “I want them to know that I am able to embrace living because of their son or daughter and that their spirit lives on.” Photos by Benjamin Krain��

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Little Rock couple’s $37,000 gift endows business scholarship

����Vlog��ý Little Rock student to participate in Transplant Games of America after kidney transplant

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student to participate in Transplant Games of America after kidney transplant