The Bryants
2
I M PACT
‘Never Give Up on Your Dreams’ “I experience two levels of joy at my job every day,” says Amanda Leyva ’18, explaining her interpretation of her job title of Level 2 Neonatal Nurse. Now caring for premature babies at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, Leyva, a first-generation graduate in nursing with honors in the major, discovered her calling for nursing at the age of 8, after taking care of her ill grandmother in her native Cuba. “Caring for her really fostered that nature that I have to nurture others,” she says. It’s a quality Leyva also displayed as a senior at UCF when she depleted her savings to pay for her aunt’s cancer care in Cuba, which left her without the money to complete her degree. Fortunately, support provided by the ReAnna Greene Memorial Nursing Scholarship — established to honor Greene, a 2011 graduate of the UCF College of Nursing who tragically lost her life in 2015 — enabled Leyva to graduate and land her dream job. Today, Levya says she wakes up every morning grateful to make an impact on the babies and parents she meets in the neonatal intensive care unit and is often named a favorite nurse on patient surveys. “Parents see so many nurses during their time at the hospital,” she says, “so if they remember my name months later, I know I’ve made a big impression and done my job well.” She recalls one mom who, as a non-English speaker, was fearful about leaving her baby’s side because she had difficulty understanding medical updates. “When I met her, she hadn’t left the hospital in months,” says Leyva. “I was able to talk to her and assure her that her baby was doing fine, and she felt okay to go home and take a break.” The mother still texts Leyva pictures and updates, as do the families of many other babies she has cared for. Levya not only stays connected to her former patients, she also stays connected to the UCF College of Nursing by providing advice and support to current nursing students. She serves as philanthropy chair for the Theta Epsilon chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the international nursing honor society, and she’s saving up to make a donation of her own to the ReAnna Greene Scholarship, so she can help other student nurses as she was helped. As a Cuban immigrant who faced obstacles that at times seemed insurmountable, Leyva wants to be an inspiration to others. “Keep going forward,” she says. “Never give up on your dreams.”
SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE REANNA GREENE MEMORIAL NURSING SCHOLARSHIP ENABLED LEYVA TO GRADUATE AND LAND HER DREAM JOB.
Family Legacy $13 million estate gift will fund student-athlete scholarships.
Gary and Barbara Bryant recently made the largest gift commitment in the history of UCF Athletics. Once funded, their $13 million estate gift will establish the Gary and Barbara Bryant Family Athletic Endowed Scholarship Fund. Proceeds from the endowment will provide athletic scholarship support for both men’s and women’s student-athletes at UCF. “Barbara and I have always participated in sports and believe in the transformational, door-opening value of a college education,” says Gary Bryant. “We made this commitment to enable student-athletes to get an education and compete in the sport they love at our hometown university. We feel very fortunate to be able to make this commitment and hope other community and alumni friends will support Orlando’s hometown team.” “Their family legacy at UCF will forever provide life-changing scholarship opportunities for hundreds of young men and women to pursue their academic, athletic and personal dreams through the student-athlete experience,” says Danny White, UCF vice president and director of athletics. After many years in public accounting, Gary Bryant became the president and CEO of several life and health insurance companies in the Orlando area. He and his wife, Barbara, are avid travelers and golfers.
“WE ARE COMMITTED TO CREATING AN ACADEMIC PATHWAY THAT WILL EMPOWER PARRAMORE RESIDENTS TO TRANSFORM THEIR POTENTIAL INTO OPPORTUNITY.” — PAUL J. LUNA, president and CEO of the Helios Education Foundation, which has combined with the JPMorgan Chase Foundation and The Kresge Foundation to provide more than $2 million in funding to the Parramore Education and Innovation District initiative, a coordinated and far-reaching effort to improve educational access and success in the Parramore neighborhood adjacent to UCF Downtown.
ucffoundation.org