Donor Profile: Dr. Kpakpundu Ezeze
As we celebrate Black History Month, we thank many of our generous donors including Dr. Ezeze, a part-time academic advisor and counselor at the Takoma Park Silver Spring campus at Montgomery College. Dr. Kpakpundu Ezeze is also the founder and President of Future Quest, a consulting firm specializing in educational planning and college placement services for college-bound teens. He is passionate about helping young people plan for, apply for, and get through college.
Most of Dr. Ezeze’s career has been in higher education. He is a lifelong learner, earning a master’s degree at Tufts and a doctorate at Harvard. He has seen the challenges that many first-generation students, particularly students of color may have with getting into, financing and thriving in the college environment. With that in mind, Dr. Ezeze was searching for a program that could specifically help students of color, when he was introduced to the Presidential Scholars Program. This program supports students committed to increasing the representation of African American males in high workforce needs areas. Thanks to generous community members like Dr. Ezeze, students receive financial funding and also other supports like mentoring and coaching.
Dr. Ezeze is passionate about helping these students reach their goals and encourages others in the community to invest in programs like this. While many schools will offer partial scholarships, private scholarship funding can often close the funding gap and put continuing education within reach of more students.