When I first heard of wealth management, I envisioned highly customized investment services for the ultra-wealthy like tech gurus and famous celebrities. However, through my studies in the USF Personal Financial Planning Program and my life experiences, I have learned the industry does so much more. Moreover, great financial advisors can transform their client’s current and future financial wellbeing and confidence. That unique ability to provide much needed guidance is what drew me to financial advising. During my freshman year, I learned a lot about myself personally and professionally. I became involved in the Investment Club’s Financial Planning team where I gained exposure to eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, and improved my overall understanding of the financial planning process. I also joined Phi Chi Theta, a co-ed professional business fraternity, which enabled me to grow professionally. There, I gained hands-on leadership as Fundraising Chair, where I raised $2,500+ for hurricane relief. I then transitioned to my current role as Vice President of External Affairs where I oversee organizational philanthropy, fundraising, marketing, and alumni relations. After accomplishing all this during my freshman year, I had to overcome the largest obstacle in my life - my mother passing away after a 3-year battle with cancer. As a result, my perspective on life has changed in countless ways. From a career perspective, it has reinforced that I want to pursue a career in financial advising so I can help families prepare for unexpected events like what my family experienced. Furthermore, I believe I possess a distinct capability to relate with families going through similar life events, and will be able to guide both their financial and personal wellbeing. While advisors can not do a lot to prevent a death from occurring, they can ease associated financial, family, and personal pains through consultation and education. Recognizing the importance of education, I chose to work for USF as a Student Financial Coach. In this position, I have presented and met one-on-one with high school and college students to educate them on financial fundamentals and how to prepare for their futures. In addition, I attained my Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI) designation, which attests my skill in teaching financial concepts. This job has shown me first hand the power financial literacy can have in people’s lives, and I hope to continue similar pro-bono work for disadvantaged children and young adults after I graduate. Wanting to continue my career growth, I joined One Source Advisory during summer 2026 as a paraplanner intern. In this role I will better understand how financial advising firms operate, specifically how advisors are supported throughout the entire process. I will be working to create a positive impact on the firm and add value to the operations. In summary, advising is a career path I eagerly want to pursue, and the steps I am taking today hopefully will lead me to achieving my goal of becoming a Certified Financial Planner. I hope to continue making a positive impact on my community through promoting financial literacy. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-foley06/ Resume: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BTBQhygGZcqqKJsmVUdWWECmaTK3qpia/view?usp=sharing

During my freshman year of college, I knew I wanted a career that used my strengths and talents to make a living for myself while also helping people in a truly impactful way. I had always been interested in finance, numbers, and math, so I entered the University as a finance major. However, as I learned more about different careers in finance, none of them met the criteria I originally had for my life and work. Everything changed during the spring of my freshman year when my mother passed away after a long battle with cancer. This was the hardest experience I have ever endured. After her passing, my family had to turn to a financial advisor to help us navigate insurance policies, estate documents, and everything else that suddenly fell on our shoulders. It was through this process that I realized I could pursue a career in this space. For the first time, I saw what it truly meant for someone’s work to directly support and guide a family in their most difficult moment. That experience opened a completely new perspective for me. After asking around my University, I learned we had a degree program called “Personal Financial Planning.” When I discovered this, something immediately clicked in my head. I knew this was what I was going to do with my life. Losing my mother reshaped the way I thought about education, career, and the future. It taught me that life is not a straight, linear path. Instead, it is a constantly evolving process that forces us to grow, adapt, and redefine what we want our lives to stand for. Since choosing this major, I have gotten involved in multiple organizations to prepare myself for a career in this field. First was the Investment Club, where I worked one semester as an analyst and another as a senior analyst on the Financial Planning Team. In that team, five of us work together to construct comprehensive financial plans, similar to the one my family’s advisor built for us, three times each semester. This hands-on experience has shown me exactly what it means to provide real financial guidance and support to clients. In addition, I serve as the Head of Recruitment for Mu Nu Upsilon, the United States’ first financial services co-ed fraternity. There, I spread awareness about careers in financial planning because I wish someone had told me earlier that this profession existed. I also present multiple financial literacy workshops each semester. Sharing this knowledge with students helps me live out the values I discovered after my mother passed away: support, education, and service. I also currently work for my University as a Student Financial Coach. I visit high schools across the county to present financial literacy workshops as part of Florida’s broader push for financial education in the classroom. Through these opportunities, I have developed a deep commitment to educating others so they can navigate the financial challenges that life inevitably brings. In short, losing my mother changed everything for me. It gave me the strength to see my education and career as tools to uplift others in meaningful ways. My goal is to continue educating myself so I can educate the world, helping families through the same kinds of moments mine had to endure. This scholarship would mean so much to me because, especially after my mother’s passing, finances have been much tighter in my household. She invested so much in me, and I do not want that investment to go to waste simply because I lack the financial means to complete my education.

During my freshman year of college, I knew I wanted a career that used my strengths and talents to make a living for myself while also helping people in a truly impactful way. I had always been interested in finance, numbers, and math, so I entered the University as a finance major. However, as I learned more about different careers in finance, none of them met the criteria I originally had for my life and work. Everything changed during the spring of my freshman year when my mother passed away after a long battle with cancer. This was the hardest experience I have ever endured. After her passing, my family had to turn to a financial advisor to help us navigate insurance policies, estate documents, and everything else that suddenly fell on our shoulders. It was through this process that I realized I could pursue a career in this space. For the first time, I saw what it truly meant for someone’s work to directly support and guide a family in their most difficult moment. That experience opened a completely new perspective for me. After asking around my University, I learned we had a degree program called “Personal Financial Planning.” When I discovered this, something immediately clicked in my head. I knew this was what I was going to do with my life. Losing my mother reshaped the way I thought about education, career, and the future. It taught me that life is not a straight, linear path. Instead, it is a constantly evolving process that forces us to grow, adapt, and redefine what we want our lives to stand for. Since choosing this major, I have gotten involved in multiple organizations to prepare myself for a career in this field. First was the Investment Club, where I worked one semester as an analyst and another as a senior analyst on the Financial Planning Team. In that team, five of us work together to construct comprehensive financial plans, similar to the one my family’s advisor built for us, three times each semester. This hands-on experience has shown me exactly what it means to provide real financial guidance and support to clients. In addition, I serve as the Head of Recruitment for Mu Nu Upsilon, the United States’ first financial services co-ed fraternity. There, I spread awareness about careers in financial planning because I wish someone had told me earlier that this profession existed. I also present multiple financial literacy workshops each semester. Sharing this knowledge with students helps me live out the values I discovered after my mother passed away: support, education, and service. I also currently work for my University as a Student Financial Coach. I visit high schools across the county to present financial literacy workshops as part of Florida’s broader push for financial education in the classroom. Through these opportunities, I have developed a deep commitment to educating others so they can navigate the financial challenges that life inevitably brings. In short, losing my mother changed everything for me. It gave me the strength to see my education and career as tools to uplift others in meaningful ways. My goal is to continue educating myself so I can educate the world, helping families through the same kinds of moments mine had to endure. This scholarship would mean so much to me because, especially after my mother’s passing, finances have been much tighter in my household. She invested so much in me, and I do not want that investment to go to waste simply because I lack the financial means to complete my education.

Education, and the broader pursuit of knowledge and reason, has been a core pillar of my entire life. I feel blessed to have parents who invested their time and resources into me so that I could start life on a path towards learning and growth. I recall my mother frequently reminding me that I knew the entire alphabet front-to-back and back-to-front before I was even 2 years old. Beyond that, she would recognize my analytical skills through a simple story. When she was teaching me the letters, and she asked which was an “O”, I pointed to a circular clock on the wall. At first, she was confused, however, after she realized that I took the shape of the clock as an “O”, she told me she knew I was going to make it. Throughout elementary and middle school I realized that all my aspirations would require me to have an education. So for me, that became my drive and gave me a sense of direction. I recall switching middle schools in 6th grade and how difficult the experience was for me to overcome. The school I transferred to was a K-12 school, and was very small with only around 20 students in each grade level. As a result, many people were not accepting of me and I experienced intense bullying for about a year. I overcame this and eventually became integrated in the community. However, this experience taught me two things. First, not to stay around people who do not appreciate you for who you are. And second, we must forgive people - holding a grudge brings about nothing positive. However, do not let the same people who did harm unto you do the same to you, and especially to others. I learned to advocate for others in a way no one advocated for me. When I was entering high school, I experienced another metamorphosis in how I viewed education. For my entire life, I only took education as something taught in the classroom, however, I learned that much of life’s growth comes from activities outside the classroom. It is there I started participating on my school’s Varsity Golf Team. Through that experience I met some of my closest friends. I also built a solid work ethic, having to train 4 days a week for 4-5 hours each day. This experience was not only fun, but it taught me that throughout the rest of my education, and life in general, having hobbies is so important. Especially as AI continues to rise, people want to talk to genuine people, if they just wanted a robot they could turn to ChatGPT. As I entered college, I knew I wanted a career that used my strengths and talents to both make a living for myself but also help people in a real impactful way. I’ve always been interested in finance, numbers, and math, so naturally I entered University as a finance major. However, during my freshman year as I learned about careers in finance, none of them met my original two criteria. During the spring of my freshman year, my mother passed away after a long battle with cancer. After this my family had to turn to a financial advisor to help us sort everything out with the insurance policies and other estate documents. Through this experience I learned that I too could pursue a career in this space. After asking around my University, I learned we have a degree program called, “Personal Financial Planning”. Upon learning about this, something clicked in my head and I knew this was what I was going to do with my life. While this experience has been the hardest thing I’ve ever endured, it has enlightened me to think of life, education, and my career as a constantly evolving machine, not a linear graph. After this I became involved in multiple organizations to help me prepare for a career in this space. First, was the Investment Club where I worked a semester as an analyst and another as a senior analyst on the Financial Planning Team. There, my team of 5 people work to construct comprehensive financial plans, similar to the one my family’s financial advisor made for us, three times a semester. In addition, I am the Head of Recruitment for Mu Nu Upsilon, the United State’s first ever financial services co-ed fraternity. There, I spread awareness of careers in this space, because I wish someone told me earlier. In addition, I present multiple financial literacy workshops each semester. Furthermore, I currently work for my University as a Student Financial Coach. There, I go to multiple high schools in the county to present financial literacy workshops to the students. This program is a part of Florida’s greater push for financial literacy education in the classroom. In short, I have overcome a great deal of adversity in my life. However, what does not kill me only makes me stronger. I have used this strength already in my schooling to support, educate, and uplift others in truly meaningful ways. I hope to further pursue these goals of educating myself so I can educate the world. This scholarship would mean so much to me, because especially after my mother passed finances have been much tighter in my household. She invested so much in me, and I do not want to see her investment in me wasted because I lack the financial means to complete school.

As a college student, it’s easy to get caught up in a culture of living in the moment or focusing only on myself instead of thinking about the bigger picture. During these times, I’ve found strength and guidance in my faith in God, which has helped me stay grounded in my values. I first grew in this faith through my church’s youth group in high school, and now I continue to nurture it as part of my school’s Catholic Student Center. My faith also pushes me to serve others. In high school, I started Cards for Seniors, a group where I led students in making and delivering cards to hundreds of senior citizens in our town. Seeing the joy our cards brought to their faces reminded me that small acts of kindness can go a long way. It also showed me the importance of leadership, empathy, and community, all of which are lessons I carry with me today. In high school, I also served as an assistant teacher for my church’s Confirmation Class and EDGE Program (primarily middle school aged students). In this role I worked with 30+ students to facilitate their learning through presentations and engaging group-activities. This position not only strengthened my own knowledge on the Catholic faith, but it also helped me build the skillset to present information in a clear and concise way. That skill has been crucial in my further career and professional endeavors. My faith has also been a source of strength during some of the hardest moments of my life. The clearest example came during my mom’s battle with cancer. Watching her go through such a difficult time while still holding on to her faith was inspiring, and it made mine stronger too. Since her passing, I’ve tried to live with the same courage she showed. I’ve learned that faith is more than something you believe - it’s something you practice every day through hope, gratitude, and perseverance. I also believe that God gives us all gifts and expects us to use them to make a difference. The Parable of the Talents in the Gospel of Matthew reminds me of this responsibility. For me, those gifts are an interest in Accounting and Personal Financial Planning, and I hope to use what I’m learning to help people create strong financial plans for their future. At the same time, I try to keep a balance in my life by following a “work hard, play hard” mindset. I love golfing, walking in nature, and spending time with friends - those things bring me joy and help me stay energized for everything else I do. During my time in college, I’ve taken on leadership roles in my Business Fraternity, Phi Chi Theta. In my first role as Vice President of my pledge class, I was responsible for raising funds for a local charity. During this time, my city was devastated by the worst hurricane in 100 years, so, I decided we would raise funds for a local relief organization, Rebuilding Tampa Bay. Through various bake sales, door-knocking, and online efforts, we raised over $2,500 for the organization, making a real impact in the region. Furthermore, I served as Fundraising Chair where I worked with Funds2Orgs to collect shoes for 23 developing countries across the world. We ultimately collected over 600 pounds of shoes, and raised $170 for my fraternity through the process. In just one year in university, I have experienced first-hand the value a mentor can bring, which can often be life changing. Consequently, I’ve signed up this year to mentor a freshman business student, assisting them in getting involved on campus. This experience is mutually beneficial as I am helping my mentee prepare for their 4-years ahead, and they help me stay grounded in my goals. Looking ahead, I hope to earn my Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation and eventually work at a firm like Merrill Lynch, helping people achieve their goals. I also want to grow more involved in my church community at the University of South Florida, and someday, I hope to meet someone I can share my life with and build a family. Traveling is another passion I want to continue exploring. I spent six weeks studying abroad in Florence, Italy, where I learned so much about the culture, history, and art while making lifelong memories. That trip opened my eyes to the world in new ways, and I’m now excited about the chance to study abroad in Germany, where I’ll be learning in Berlin, Dresden, and Munich. This scholarship would allow me to keep pursuing my education, explore the world through experiences like study abroad, and stay involved in the communities that help me grow in both my faith and my ability to serve others.