Kirk and Lance Willoughby-Hudson firmly believe in the importance of educational experiences abroad.
For them, such experiences inspired an appreciation for other cultures that led to empathy and the ability to find common ground in both personal and professional relationships.
Acting upon their belief, the couple has established the Willoughby-Hudson Study Abroad Endowment Fund with a generous pledge to fund international travel abroad experiences for students in UNCG’s Bryan School of Business and Economics.
Raleigh native Kirk Willoughby-Hudson ’06, the first in his family to attend college, was a Roscoe and Anne M. Allen Scholar at UNCG. Through the Bryan School’s international business program, he studied Spanish and international business at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. He now lives in Brooklyn and works in finance. An active alumnus who helped found the UNCG Alumni Club in NY City, Kirk makes frequent return visits to UNCG’s campus.
His husband, Lance, graduated from Howard University and is a practicing attorney.
This endowment is inspired by Kirk’s own study abroad as an undergraduate at UNCG, as well as by Kirk and Lance’s shared international travel. Recipients will be undergraduates with a declared major in the Bryan School, a minimum GPA of 3.0, and preferably from historically underrepresented populations in the field of business.
Kirk’s experience at UNCG was life-changing. “My experience in the Bryan School, through a study abroad opportunity and international business studies, prepared me for a career in finance that has spanned four continents,” he says. “And as a former scholarship student, it is important for me to give back.”
By Christine Garton, UNCG Magazine