VALDOSTA — The Kevin Klepper Greek Leadership Award and Scholarship was recently established to recognize an outstanding student in the Valdosta State University Greek community.

The Kevin Klepper Greek Leadership Award and Scholarship will first be awarded in April to a rising senior who is active in VSU Greek community, university officials said. Members of the Greek community who have a minimum cumulative 3.0 grade point average are eligible to apply.

The scholarship recipient will receive $1,500 to $750 for the spring semester and $750 for the fall semester.

The scholarship was named in honor of VSU alumnus Kevin Klepper, who was a member of the Delta Rho Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order. Klepper, who now lives in South Carolina, graduated from VSU in December 1998 with a bachelor of fine arts in speech communication.

In 2007, Klepper was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system in which the body’s immune system incorrectly attacks healthy tissue, university officials said.

Following this diagnosis, Klepper’s fraternity brothers organized a golf tournament in 2008 — Scrambling Fore the Cause — as a way to support Klepper by raising awareness for multiple sclerosis along with raising money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to help find a cure for this disease, they said. 

The annual golf tournament, held on St. Simons Island, has raised more than $100,000.

Walter Peacock, VSU development officer, said the VSU Alumni Association became involved in Scrambling Fore the Cause several years ago. He said a couple hundred VSU alumni participate in the tournament each year.

The Kevin Klepper Greek Leadership Award and Scholarship, established by the VSU Alumni Association, was “inspired by the act of alumni supporting their own through creating and participating in the Scrambling Fore the Cause golf tournament,” university officials said.

The tournament will serve as a way to jointly fundraise for multiple sclerosis research and for the scholarship.

Klepper said he hopes the scholarship will alleviate some of the financial burden placed on a student’s shoulders.

“I really hope this scholarship allows someone to go to college and not worry about needing a full-time job at the same time,” he said.

Students interested in applying should visit the Office of Greek Life in Student Union Room 2102 or call (229) 333-5674 to learn more or to pick up a scholarship application. The deadline to submit all application materials to the Office of Greek Life is April 1.