10 September 2019
William Pham
UCCS staff member Greg Williams brought a team from UCCS to the Tour de Cure this past weekend.
Williams is the director of networks and infrastructure with the Office of Information Technology (OIT), who also teaches computer science courses, and has participated in the race for the last four years. The Tour de Cure is a biking event that raises money to help prevent and cure diabetes.
Williams gathered more than 10 members of the UCCS community to participate in the American Diabetes Association run event, including Chancellor Venkat Reddy.
“The very first person I asked, before I sent it out to the rest of the campus, was Chancellor Reddy,” said Williams.
UCCS student Hannah Frei has benefit from the Tour de Cure, according to Williams. Frei has had diabetes for 11 years and became empowered by the event and has participated in other outreach endeavors.
Williams said that he hopes Frei’s story will help others.
Williams wants to use his role on the community leadership board with the American Diabetes Association, which he has worked with since his daughter was diagnosed with diabetes in 2014, to organize teams from Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.
“It’s bigger than UCCS, and it’s about those people who need that help,” said Williams.
According to Williams, the money raised by the Tour de Cure benefits medicine research, natural disaster relief and to help raise awareness in the US Congress. Each participant is encouraged to raise $200, but the goal for the UCCS team is to raise $5,000.
Williams said that the Tour de Cure helps students living with diabetes the help and resources they need.
“If you know who to go to, and you can get help, and you have resources, then perhaps it’s a little bit less scary for you to go to college,” said Williams.
The event was open to all friends and families, and participants could either bike, walk, ride, run or participate virtually. The Tour de Cure also had multiple routes with different distances to make the event inclusive.
Greg Williams is the Director of Operations for I.T. within the office of information and technology at UCCS. His duties involve interactions and oversights on anything I.T. related at the university including overseeing network and system infrastructures. Mr. Williams has also been teaching computer science classes for the past 6 years.