When one Vol believes in another, it opens the door to opportunity.
$332 million—such a number can be difficult to wrap your arms around, but what it meant to Kayla Hvozdovic (Class of 2024) is possibility. It meant the possibility to chase her dreams, to study public relations and pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
The $332 million UT received from donors last year contributed to the 10,000-plus privately funded scholarship awards distributed to students. Hvozdovic earned one of the awards. For her and fellow scholarship recipients, this support means the ability to attend UT, opportunity to engage in student life, and flexible time to focus on studies and gain work experience.
The Carol Poston Scholarship that Hvozdovic received enabled her to attend UT and go after her career goals.
“Receiving this scholarship helped me further my education and allowed me to continue to attend the university that I love,” says Hvozdovic. “With my degree, I want to work as a festival director in the live entertainment industry, and this scholarship allowed me to pursue my dream.”
While a student, Hvozdovic engaged in a host of student experiences, many of which contributed to her career pursuits.
“Throughout my years as a student I was able to better my education through the public relations program and the courses offered,” says Hvozdovic. “I was a Pi Beta Phi sorority member and on the entertainment committee for the Campus Events Board.”
The Campus Events Board arranges a plethora of student events, including Volapalooza, an annual Vol tradition and music festival which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and featured musical acts Quinn XCII and Russell Dickerson, among others.
Apart from drawing big name music artists to campus, Hvozdovic also had the opportunity to complete several internships, including one with Boston Beer Company and a stint with CMA (Country Music Awards) fest. These and other student experiences directly impacted her professional progress toward one day developing and leading the next best festival in live entertainment.
Receiving this scholarship helped me further my education and allowed me to attend the university that I love.
Kayla Hvozdovic
Class of 2024
But Hvozdovic may not have had these opportunities without vital funding first and the donor who made it possible. Carol Poston (’81) also enjoyed a full college life, participated in a sorority like her recent scholarship recipient, and received an education in advertising that launched her career.
“My degree set me up for the career in marketing that I now enjoy with Vanderbilt Health, where my work advances a medical institution that truly lives out the human-first dedication in care,” says Poston. “My UT education really prepared me. The variety of classes, the foundational knowledge, and real-world experiences helped me build momentum pretty quickly after graduating.
“Education has always been important in my life because both my parents were teachers and first-generation college students, and this was part of my motivation for creating a UT scholarship,” adds Poston.
Of first-year students on campus this fall, 16 percent are first-generation. Impressively, 96 percent of this incoming class received financial aid or scholarships.
While access to a UT education has never been better, need also remains high, as enrollment has grown by nearly 8,000 students since 2019. Record-breaking progress in retention and enrollment mean the largest student population yet, with approximately 37,000 students on campus this year.
“Financial support is more critical than ever for students, and with state funding for public universities waning these days, it’s even more important for those of us who love UT and had a great college experience to give back. That’s part of being a Volunteer.”
Poston has tried to connect, meet, and mentor as many of her scholarship’s recipients as possible over the last 15 years since she endowed the award. She loves to invest in and watch their professional progress, with many landing communications work in highly competitive markets like New York.
She also strives to instill her philanthropic perspective at every opportunity. It seems to have taken hold—one former Poston Scholarship recipient even started a study abroad scholarship because his UT travel experiences had been so transformative.
“I also love to travel, having been to over 30 countries now, and made that a priority in my current estate plans which include the university,” says Poston. “That’s part of the beauty of investing in UT and its students, that you can structure it according to an area of need that also means something to you.”
UT has become and will remain a destination for students like Hvozdovic to chase dreams and change their lives thanks to alumni and donors like Poston who believe in the potential of Volunteers to positively impact our state and our world.
