The Legacy Created When Giving Back
Sue Voegele’s ’62 commitment to giving back to the University of Central Arkansas spans several decades. Her passion is giving back to UCA’s Athletics department annually.
Voegele knows that every gift matters in UCA’s campus community. Her journey at UCA, then Arkansas State Teachers College, began when she came on a journalism scholarship. Voegele worked various jobs on campus to pay her way. Therefore, she understood the importance of scholarships for students.
As a student at UCA, she was a cheerleader who met her future husband, football player, and track standout, Buddy Voegele, who was inducted into UCA’s Sports Hall of Fame in the fall of 2010. “Best of all,” she fondly remembered, “I met my future husband. We had our first date on October 31, 1959. The rest is history.”
Her passion for giving back to athletics springs from her 35 years of teaching and coaching. As she continued to stay connected to UCA, she served on the Alumni Board of Directors, specifically the scholarship committee, furthering her affinity for giving to other organizations on campus for 30 years.
“It was one way I could give back because I had been given so much. It was something I could do that would keep me connected with UCA. I have reconnected with friends, and we have stayed connected,” Voegele said as she recounted the comfort found in friendships at UCA during the loss of her husband, Buddy, last year.
Voegele’s determination to give goes to the heart of the university: its students. While serving on the scholarship committee, Voegele saw the impact of scholarship funding. “It goes to the students and it’s amazing. Some of the stories the kids write about why they need a scholarship are heartbreaking. So the main thing to know is that it will go to the students, and anything could help. That’s my number one priority — for the students to get it.”
Through volunteering and giving to multiple causes on campus, such as Purple Circle, Voegele actively keeps watch for more ways to help students in the future. After hearing about UCA’s Food Pantry, she also decided to give there. “I heard a talk about it last year and said, ‘Oh! I want to help with that!’”
Be it her time as a student, teaching athletics, or making lifelong friendships and connections, Voegele is happy to give, knowing that every gift matters and makes a difference in a student’s life. To her, UCA is a special place where “You feel comfortable. You feel wanted and needed. It’s a family. It really is – a family.”