At a young age, Alicea Glover Gaston began giving back to her community and never stopped.
“I’m passionate about ensuring that everyone, especially minorities and young people, have the resources and education that they need to make smart and educated healthcare decisions,” said Gaston.
Channeling that desire to help others, Gaston pursued two undergraduate degrees from the University of Georgia—a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations/Image Management.
“What I do now has really blended the two worlds from my undergraduate degrees,” said Gaston. “I always wanted to advocate for others and feel that I was helping to empower them.”
With a Master of Business Administration also in her toolkit, Gaston serves as the manager of communications & stewardship for the Wellstar Foundation.
“We work closely with community and healthcare providers and partners to make sure that they’re reaching the people in our communities who need those resources and have a better understanding of what’s available to them,” Gaston said.
This year, she’s also stepping into a new role—the vice president of the Black Alumni Leadership Council. Launched in 2015, this alumni affinity group works to connect alumni and students with shared experiences
around their four mission areas – retain, engage, donate, and serve.
Gaston previously served as the philanthropy chair and hopes the upcoming year will build on recent successes.
“Last year, we celebrated reaching $1 million toward our scholarship. And so, we’re hoping to continue to build on all that excitement and re-engage other alumni and then connect with other students at the university,” she said.
This proud UGA Alumna is passionate about giving back to the university and its students—and encourages others to do the same—because of her own personal experiences here.
“I’m so grateful for the people and the community that I gained here at the University of Georgia, specifically with the College of Public Health. There are people that I consider my closest and dearest friends that I met here on campus,” said Gaston. “And I look forward to making more connections along the way.”
By Mackenzie Patterson
