Joe Webb, left, graduate student and volunteer football recruiter, shares a laugh with Blugold freshman tailback D'Karlos Craig.

Paying it forward

Scholarship a turning point for struggling student

UW-Eau Claire graduate student Joe Webb didn't have the easiest start in life. He grew up in 16 different foster and group homes in inner city Pittsburgh, Pa. Webb got a lucky break when he got a scholarship to Marietta College in Ohio. There he played football for coach Todd Glaser, who is now UW-Eau Claire's head coach. Glaser took an interest in Webb, admonishing him to go to class early, sit up front and keep his grades up.

"I really consider Glaser as a father figure and a mentor," Webb said. "No one had ever cared about me the way coach did. He convinced me I could do well at school despite where I came from."

Glaser returned to Wisconsin to coach the Blugolds after Webb's sophomore year. But Glaser told Webb that when he finished school he should come to UW-Eau Claire. Webb graduated from Marietta College in December 2007 with a bachelor's degree in organizational communication. He moved to Eau Claire and worked for a year to save money for school. In fall 2009 Webb entered the master of education-professional development degree program at UW-Eau Claire and went to work for Glaser as a volunteer coach and recruiter.

Despite financial aid and working to support himself, Webb ran out of money. The John Kell Football Endowment was able to provide money so Webb could stay in school.

"That gift was really a turning point for me," Webb said. "I see giving money to a cause like the Kell fund as a way of paying it forward. When I am able to give back money, I'm going to be the donor and some student like me is going to be saying I helped them."

Webb continues to pay it forward in other ways, working for UW-Eau Claire's Multicultural Affairs Office and the Admissions Office as a recruiter for diverse students. He also was a counselor for the Blugold Beginnings program where he worked with low-income high school students to encourage them to attend college, and he organized a pre-college math and science camp for Milwaukee students in grades six through 12.