Giving feels good: Kio Burrell

This Buckeye is motivated to pay forward by creating opportunities for women to make a difference.

Kio Burrell grew up in a small town in Alabama, and she knew from an early age that if she planned to attend college, she’d have to pay her own way or find a scholarship. Fortunately, a scholarship came through, and Burrell became the first in her family to earn a higher education degree.

After joining The Ohio State University’s Office of Advancement more than seven years ago, Burrell knew she wanted to help give students the same opportunity she was afforded. “It was important to me to pay forward,” she says.

Initially, Burrell began giving annually to the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Xi Gamma Chapter Scholarship Fund at Ohio State. She followed that with monthly donations to Women & Philanthropy, an Ohio State group that connects generations of women seeking to make a difference in the world. “I’m interested in work that elevates women in the workplace,” Burrell says. “I was really struck by the idea that there’s a long-standing advocacy program that is specific to supporting and growing the philanthropy of women in the Ohio State community.”

“If I’m able to give some money to support these causes, that creates a sense of personal fulfillment in me. It makes me feel good, and it also lets me know that I am contributing to something that’s bigger than myself.” - Kio Burrell