Donor Spotlight: Kathryn Flowers
Kathryn Flowers (UT 2007) has been a monthly donor to the Terry endowment since 2020. Before adding donations to her give-back commitment as a Terry Scholar, Kathryn served as an interview panelist, an officer for the Terry Scholar Alumni Association’s Austin Chapter, a member of the Terry Scholar Alumni Advisory Board, and most recently as a new member of the Terry Foundation Board of Directors. When asked why and how she chooses to give back to the Foundation, Kathryn said:
The question of giving back for me was never really a question at all. Growing up my mom always believed that if you did good things for other people, that “energy” would come back to you. Mr. and Mrs. Terry’s gift to me was very personal in that way – I have always felt that becoming a Terry Scholar was, in many ways, an incredible stroke of luck, even after all the hard work I had put in. I worked hard and was recognized – but many others worked hard too, without the same chance. I give back because I want to amplify what the Foundation is able to do. We can only help so many students directly.
“The question of giving back for me was never really a question at all…I give back because I want to amplify what the Foundation is able to do.
– Kathryn Flowers (UT 2007)
I started by giving my time, but I received so much back from that experience that I wanted to do more. When I could, I did. There is no cause dearer to me than the Terry Foundation. Being a Terry Scholar altered the course of my life. My twin boys will have every opportunity they could dream of, many of which I could not have imagined myself growing up. It’s not all because of Mr. and Mrs. Terry. But more of it is than seems possible.
If I can change the course of just one young person’s life through giving back financially, I want to do that. I know my time has done wonders for the Foundation, and it brings me deep joy. But I want the endowment to live in perpetuity while still maximizing the scholarships we give – that’s what motivates me to donate.
