June 3, 2015
JuneRoundtable - Images by UCF Knights
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andy Seeley
UCFKnights.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- At some point in life, a map can be necessary to get where you're going.
The Varsity Knights program teamed up with Northwestern Mutual and a trio of distinguished speakers Tuesday night to provide a "Roadmap to Success" for more than 50 former UCF student-athletes.
The Varsity Knights roundtable took place at Fairwinds Alumni Center, with UCF Vice President & Director of Athletics Todd Stansbury, UCF Foundation Board Chair Phyllis Klock and former UCF professor/successful entrepreneur Tom Bland taking turns leading small group discussions about different pathways to success.
Troy Gray, who recently wrapped up his football career with the Knights, will soon be looking to begin his actual career.
"This was a great event," Gray said. "There's a great opportunity in meeting people. Making sure that you're getting out there, putting your name out there. I've learned a lot. Talking to Todd Stansbury, Phyllis (Klock) and Mr. Bland in the different seminars we went to was a great opportunity. There are a lot of alumni from UCF out there and you get to network. Down the road, there may be an opportunity where a door could open, you meet someone, they introduce you to someone else and now your network, your tree gets bigger."
Improving the Varsity Knights and putting together events like Tuesday night's roundtable was important to Stansbury when he arrived at UCF. His goal is to bring valuable programming and networking opportunities to former student-athletes.
"Rather than focusing on one or two tailgates a year and a golf tournament, we really want to do a lot of professional development programming throughout the year," Stansbury said. "The idea was bringing together three different speakers with three different topics, three different messages. Hopefully everybody took away something that can help them."
Hear more from Stansbury about the Varsity Knights program by clicking the player below: