UMKC Bold & Blue campaign is about building leaders for our future | Opinion

When I read about the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s record-setting Blue & Bold campaign to “transform the future,” it struck a deeply personal chord. Campaigns are often described in dollars and milestones, but their real impact is quieter. It’s found in the ways a university shapes the people who pass through and how those people shape their communities.

My own career in student housing and real estate began not in a boardroom, but in UMKC’s Cherry Street Residence Hall, where I worked as a resident assistant. That job taught me the fundamentals of leadership long before my title did. Leadership, I learned, isn’t about authority. It’s about showing up, listening and earning trust.

I’ll never forget one night when a resident I had been checking in on during a difficult semester stopped by my door to say thank you. He told me that earlier that year he had been struggling with thoughts of ending his life. What kept him from withdrawing completely, he said, was that someone noticed when he stopped showing up — and knocked on his door. That moment changed me. It taught me what community really means, and what becomes possible when people feel they matter.

That experience lit the spark that still guides my career: the belief that housing is never just about buildings. It’s about the people who live inside them.

During my years working in the Residential Life department, I became fascinated by the systems and spaces that help students thrive. That curiosity led me to co-chair the committee that secured the resolution for UMKC’s Student Union. Today, the Student Union stands as the campus’ living room, a place where students meet, collaborate and build community. Being part of its creation remains one of my proudest memories, not because of the building itself, but because of what it represents: a campus committed to belonging.

I carried that belief forward after graduation. My academic path at UMKC was intentionally unusual: dual degrees in biology and chemistry, followed by a master’s in higher education with an emphasis in student affairs. The sciences taught me to analyze, question assumptions and solve problems methodically. Student affairs taught me to understand people, develop teams and lead with purpose. Together, those degrees formed the dual lens I still use today: analytical and human-centered.

When I transitioned into student housing and real estate management, that combination proved invaluable. The industry often focuses on metrics — occupancy, rent growth, returns. But behind every number is a person: a student away from home for the first time, a family in transition, a community trying to stay connected. I approached properties the way we approached residence halls: as living communities, not just assets.

At one point, I oversaw a student housing portfolio with high turnover and low engagement. Instead of relying on marketing, we invested in people: mentorship programs, leadership opportunities, resident-led initiatives. Renewals rose, satisfaction increased and the business improved. The lesson was simple but powerful: If you create community, performance follows.

Today, as senior vice president of business development at national property management company HH Red Stone, I help scale a national student housing and real estate platform. My work blends strategy and partnership-building with the same student-centered philosophy I learned at UMKC. Our team collaborates with owners, investors and universities across the country to build communities that succeed financially and socially. It’s rare in real estate to find a firm that treats housing as both an investment and a human experience. That’s what drew me to HH Red Stone and what makes the work meaningful.

I now mentor young professionals starting their own careers. In their questions and anxieties, I often see my younger self: curious, driven and unsure of what comes next. The advice I give echoes what UMKC gave me: Leadership is service; community is impact and careers are built not on titles, but on purpose.

That’s why UMKC’s new campaign matters. It’s not just a fundraising effort. It’s an investment in the next generation of leaders, thinkers and builders. Universities shape cities not only through research and innovation but through the people they send into the world. I am one of thousands of alumni whose lives — and careers — were transformed on this campus.

UMKC changed the trajectory of my life. Its next chapter will help shape the future of Kansas City and the countless students who will find their own path, just as I did.

Tadros “Teddy” Abdelmalek of Olathe is a University of Missouri-Kansas City alumnus. He is senior vice president of business development at HH Red Stone.