Long before Michelle Dusseau ’26MSCJ ’26MPA became a member of UCF’s Go for Launch Campus Leadership Team, she understood something fundamental about education: sometimes, believing in a student can change the course of a life.
The Power of Opening Doors
Dusseau’s own UCF journey has come full circle. A senior lecturer in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media since 2005, she has spent more than two decades helping students prepare not only for careers, but for leadership, communication and life beyond the classroom.
After earning her undergraduate degree, first master’s degree and doctorate from Rollins College, Dusseau brought a background in social services and a deep belief in purpose-driven leadership to UCF, where she became known for her student-centered approach and courses that help students navigate professional and personal relationships with confidence and empathy.
More recently, after years of teaching Knights, she became one herself, earning dual master’s degrees in criminal justice and public administration from UCF and adding “alumna” to an identity long defined by mentorship, service and student success.
Her passion for education began with her father, an educator in Wisconsin whose dedication to students shaped the way Dusseau would later approach her own career.
Watching him teach and train future educators showed her that education was never simply about academics. It was about opening doors, building confidence and helping students see possibilities for themselves that they may not have recognized on their own.
That philosophy stayed with her throughout her career and eventually inspired one of the most meaningful decisions she would make: establishing an endowed scholarship to support students.
Investing in Student Potential
For Dusseau, the scholarship is deeply personal. It reflects both her belief in the transformative power of education and her understanding that talent alone is not always enough to guarantee opportunity. Financial hardships can force promising students to delay their education or question whether they belong in the classroom at all.
“I know what education can do,” she says. “Sometimes students just need someone to invest in them and remind them that they can succeed.”
That belief extends beyond financial support. Dusseau is passionate about helping students envision futures for themselves through mentorship, alumni engagement and industry connections.
She believes some of the most meaningful learning happens when students can see a future version of themselves in the people who once sat where they do now. Through partnerships with alumni and professionals across industries, she hopes to help students build confidence in what comes next.
Colleagues and friends describe Dusseau as someone who leads with empathy, listens carefully and genuinely wants others to succeed. Those qualities have shaped both her professional life and her philanthropy.
Her scholarship represents more than financial assistance. It represents encouragement. It tells students that someone believes in their future enough to invest in it.
Helping More Knights Rise
That commitment to opportunity and student success is one reason Dusseau became involved with Go for Launch, UCF’s historic fundraising campaign designed to expand access, accelerate innovation and shape the future of the university. As a member of the campus’s leadership team, she sees philanthropy as an extension of the same values that have guided her throughout her life: compassion, mentorship and a belief in human potential.
For Dusseau, giving back is not about recognition. It is about helping students stay enrolled when hardships arise, creating opportunities that may otherwise feel out of reach and ensuring future generations of Knights have the support they need to pursue ambitious goals.
She understands that philanthropy often begins with gratitude and with remembering the mentors and educators who helped shape your own path.
By lending her voice to the campaign, she hopes to inspire fellow faculty and staff to embrace the power of philanthropy and see how collective support can help create new opportunities for students, faculty and the university community.
