SYNERGY - Juneteenth 2022

Trey Womack

Story By: Jen Hunsaker

This is Trey Womack’s drumbeat and heartbeat. It motivates him to stay his course and find creative ways to discover and manifest his purpose to lift the next generation of youth.

Originally from Philly— and like so many young men—Womack grew up with his eyes on the NFL. He played at the University of Virginia where he received a great education and even met his wife. Unfortunately, also like so many young men, the NFL dream didn’t quite work out.

He describes his transition stage as beautiful.

“I needed that low point, that rejection and depression, to reevaluate my dreams and ambitions. It birthed my purpose.” It took him a year to learn that his purpose was to be a bridge between the people and their dreams. Womack’s been filling in the “how” ever since.

His purpose took him through a few jobs as a coach and with a company selling insurance. He quickly learned that his purpose superseded his actual role. “I wanted to connect with people and be a resource to them.”

His wife’s work took them both to the University of Florida (UF). Through LinkedIn, Womack connected with Erik Sander, an executive director from UF, to land his job with the College of Engineering as the Assistant Director of Extension and Outreach.

As Womack describes his responsibilities and opportunities, it’s evident that this purpose has been reimagined and intensified within the Gainesville community. Getting young people interested in math or even envisioning a future for themselves in engineering isn’t a solo effort, especially when supported by Dr. Cammy Abernathy’s (Dean of the College of Engineering) vision. Like an award show acceptance speech, Womack lists the veritable army he works with to inspire young, underserved kids to reimagine their future; Stephen Roberts, Dr. Kim Jacobs, Dr. Curtis Taylor, the phenomenal Dr. Juan Gilbert (aka, the Lebron James of computer science) and Joel Romelus .

“[Growing up], I knew that I had resources and I needed to give [these kids] the same. I have full autonomy to make things happen. By exposing young men to a different perspective, they’re inspired and that impact creates a spark so they want to learn how to learn.”

The ripples of 2020 have been refining ones for Gainesville and UF. Womack sees the shift into more diversity on campus and in high-paying programs. The message from the top down is clear: diversity of thought is only possible when there’s diversity in the student body. Womack gladly and energetically plays his part to bring in new thinkers.

“I’m not sure what legs [my work] will grow or if I’ll be holding the baton. I’m just sticking to my purpose, sticking to the plan to give the next generation a better shot.”