This week, UNC Charlotte held its 8th annual 49-hour digital fundraising event. Niner Nation Gives is the one time of the year that the university galvanizes the entire community – students, faculty and staff, alumni, and friends of the university from around the world – to support undergraduate and graduate student success needs like scholarships, the Jamil Niner Food Pantry, athletics, or specific academic programs.
In addition to ranking 2nd in the state for graduating Black students with bachelor’s degrees and 1st in the state for bachelor’s degrees awarded to Latino students, UNC Charlotte is recognized as a national leader in upward mobility. However, without the support provided during Niner Nation Gives, many of the innovative approaches to student success that produce these outcomes would not be possible. Nearly 75% of UNC Charlotte students receive some form of financial aid. And of these, just over half receive federal Pell Grants, meaning their expected family financial contribution towards college is $0. For these students, scholarships provide life-changing access and experiences that will impact the course of their personal and professional lives.
CLT Alliance Foundation Board Chair and 704 Shop Co-owner, Christopher Moxley can attest to this first hand.
“Without outside resources to help pay for college, there’s a good chance I would not have been able to attend,” Moxley said.
A Charlotte native, Moxley is a product of public, subsidized housing, growing up in the Inlivian (formerly the Charlotte Housing Authority) community Dillehay Courts in North Charlotte. Determined to beat the odds, Moxley never allowed the would-be trappings of his environment to limit his reach and ambition. With the help of financial aid and much needed scholarships, Moxley was the first in his family to attend a four-year university. He would go on to become a Division 1 track athlete, study abroad in Costa Rica, major in international business, and ultimately become a 2003 cum laude graduate of the Belk College of Business, where he was a member of the Business Honors Program and belonged to several academic honor societies. His education allowed him to chart a successful corporate career with several Fortune-ranked firms and now run his own award-winning business full time.
“I am extremely passionate about giving back to and uplifting our community, a community that has given so much to me,” Moxley said.
In 2018, Moxley founded the Jaylen C. Moxley Scholarship for Academic Excellence to provide a stepping stone for economically disadvantaged incoming UNC Charlotte freshmen. The scholarship is named after Moxley’s son, Jaylen, and is awarded to students with a demonstrated financial need as determined by UNC Charlotte’s Office of Financial Aid, with preference given to students from public housing communities and first-generation students with a history of volunteerism.
While the official window has closed, you can still help Moxley in his efforts to make a difference in the lives of deserving students by clicking here.
