Finding My Voice

UT Alumna Helps the Next Generation of Leaders Find Excellence Within Themselves

“I found my voice here,” Andrea Anderson, B.J. ’89, said when reflecting on her time at The University of Texas at Austin. A first-generation student from the Dallas suburbs, Andrea is now an entrepreneur helping future UT students find their own voices through a planned gift.

“UT really prepared me for success, especially from the standpoint of being a Black student,” Andrea said. “When I was a student and starting out in my career, it was not unusual to be the only Black person in the room. Being comfortable with that — and understanding that I deserved to be there, that I’m intelligent and I bring something unique to the table — I learned that at UT.”

Making a Larger Impact

An active member of the Black Alumni Network and the Black Studies Advisery Committee, it is important to Andrea to create Longhorn legacy. But she had not considered leaving UT in her estate plan until she was approached by a UT staff member about making a larger impact.

Andrea decided to make the university the beneficiary of her life insurance policy. Andrea established a new scholarship, the Andrea F. Anderson Endowment in Black Studies, to support students in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies. In addition to the new scholarship, she also decided to support the Brenda Burt Scholarship, a Texas Exes scholarship that supports Black undergraduates with financial need.

“I wanted to give a gift that would create opportunities for students, particularly Black students, so that they could discover and define excellence within themselves, for themselves — just as I was able to do,” Andrea said.

Create Opportunities for the Next Generation

To learn more about establishing a scholarship or discover other ways you can support your favorite programs, schools and colleges at UT, contact the Gift and Estate Planning Team for no-obligation help at 512-475-9632 or giftplan@austin.utexas.edu.