Your Gifts at Work

Elizabeth Hawkins is an environmental lawyer studying in the University of Houston’s Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources Master of Laws (L.L.M.) program, but certainly isn’t green when it comes to experience in the field. After working as a lawyer in a large defense firm, then in government, and also having had her own plaintiff’s personal injury practice, she worked as a contract lawyer. Then, around 20 years into her career, she had the opportunity to re-invent herself completely. The corporation that offered her a job next was looking for someone to handle the environmental practice. “Each path taught me so many things that I can honestly say have gotten me to this point. I know that I am a better corporate lawyer because I’ve had these broad, enriching experiences.” She elaborates, “More importantly, I was fortunate enough that in each of these forums, to have had mentors who allowed me to learn and grow.”

One of the most influential professors she’s had at UH is professor Tracy Hester. “Professor Hester not only brings to the table the substantive area of environmental law, but the actual practical experience. Co-mingling both, for the benefit of the students, has been amazing.”

Environmental law is a moving target, so to speak. Policies and regulations are constantly in flux. Law students who choose to specialize in environmental law need to have certain tools in order to be prepared to work in this field. Some of those many needed traits, according to Hawkins, are adaptability and flexibility. Hawkins believes it is important, “to be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things.” She adds, “Understanding different perspectives will always help you to serve your clients better.”

Hawkins knows that the future holds a great deal of unknown factors for those practicing environmental law. “I believe that an environmental lawyer today must understand that the practice they see today will more than likely be very different from the world they will have 30 years from now. Keeping up not only on the laws, but understanding global stresses (political, economic, as well as environmental,” will assist the environmental lawyer in providing the best legal guidance and advice for their clients.”

Having graduated from UH Law in 1988, Hawkins is excited to be graduating again, this time with an L.L.M. in December 2014. “I believe that all that I have been able to accomplish throughout my career should speak volumes to what the Law Center equipped me with,” says Hawkins. “I feel that I acquired a solid and practical approach to law.”

The University of Houston is on its way to becoming the nation’s “energy university.” As such, the University has introduced the Energy and Sustainability minor, an exciting new interdisciplinary minor that includes introductory and capstone courses during the duration of the classes. Some of the areas explored are existing, transitional and alternative energy resources; conservation and consumption; and energy and sustainability from the perspectives of economics and business, architecture and design, public policy and education.

One student who discovered the benefits of this approach is Brenda Martinez, a senior Environmental Science major in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The interdisciplinary aspect of the minor was what piqued Martinez’s interest. “What really interested me was getting to know how the science and numbers we were coming up with in NSM were used in other fields like business, policy and economics,” says Martinez. “It’s been an amazing eye-opening experience. I’ve gotten to experience the dynamics of working with other majors and tackling problems we face today in those industries. I’m finally getting to see the big picture of how everything works together.”

The many instructors who teach within the minor are another draw for students like Martinez. “Dr. Pratt,” she says, especially, “has been a great mentor. His passion for both the subject and teaching his students always shows.” Ultimately, after graduation Martinez would like to go into environmental consulting. But for now, she’s working on her capstone course project. She is collaborating with two other students to research carbon capture and storage (CCS) from coal, and whether it could really work in the future of energy.

The group will be looking at the economics, science and politics of CCS and whether it is a viable option for the future, considering both the strengths and limitations it has. “The EPA regulations passed recently are what interested us about this topic. We wanted to research how these would affect the coal industry, which has always been a large source of energy, not only for the US but also for developing countries throughout the world. With the large emissions coal has and the current movement towards a cleaner and more efficient environment and energy industry, we wanted to study how such a fuel would play a part in the sustainable future.”

Martinez sees the worth in studying and preparing for a future of sustainability in the field of energy. “Sustainability allows for further growth and improvement in areas such as planetary resource management, not only for us but for future generations as well. This minor really looks at how everything is interconnected,” she says. “I think that’s why people have become interested in it. We all want to know and understand how others are viewing different aspects of the same topic so we can work toward improving the problem.”

The Honors College at the University of Houston sought out Catrina Kim (’13) after she sent her application and audition tape to the Moores School of Music. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago where she lived with her parents and three sisters, Kim says, “My mom raised all four of us to be goal-oriented, disciplined and hard-working, but most of all, to find a career path that suited our individual abilities and passions.” Kim didn’t know what to expect when she was invited to join the Human Situation Class in The Honors College, but she was attracted to the rigor of the program and the small class size. “By the time I attended my first Human Situation lecture, I knew it was the right decision. I was completely drawn into the works of Homer, Thucydides, Apuleius, and Aristophanes,” she recalls. However, the single most important factor in her decision to attend the University of Houston was that of the scholarships she was offered. She won a National Merit Scholarship, and was additionally awarded the Jane Cizik Scholarship and the University Community Scholarship. It was due to generous alumni that Kim was able to pursue her studies 100 percent, instead of having to work while simultaneously attending school.

During her years at the University of Houston, her Honors College scholarships allowed her to successfully perform three piano recitals, complete a Phronesis minor, an interdisciplinary program in politics and ethics, write a Senior Honors Thesis on the philosopher Xenophon, and secure a UH Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. She exceeded her undergraduate scholarly pursuits by taking a graduate-level course and presenting a paper at a professional conference for music theory scholarship. She remembers that while the texts read were often daunting, the professors made them accessible and exciting. “The Human Situation courses were by far the most important, exciting, and personally challenging classes I took in my entire undergraduate career. It’s because of the Human Situation that I added on the Honors minor, Phronesis, and wrote a Senior Honors Thesis in political philosophy.”

Kim graduated in May 2013 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and is attending a combined MA/PhD program in Music Theory at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. Upon completion of her PhD degree, Kim plans to work at a college or university as a professor of music theory. “I plan to give back to the Honors College so that it can award scholarship assistance to deserving students. Honors College scholarships have been so critical to my academic success, I feel it is my obligation to help the next generation of talented college students.”

3CoogsA red Honda Accord with the license plate, “3COOGS” drives the Thompson family up University Drive and toward the roundabout in front of Cullen Performance Hall. It’s a familiar environment, like a second home, because the University of Houston educated three Thompson daughters and provided them with distinct pathways to success.

From early childhood to college, John and Susan Thompson remained closely involved in their daughters’ schooling. When the Thompson girls were young, Susan was the cultural arts chairwoman of their daughters’ school and held treasurer and president positions in the PTA. She also served as the council president of the PTAs for the Mansfield district. When their girls “chose Houston” for their continuing studies, the Thompsons couldn’t have been more impressed with the caliber of education their children were receiving.

Emily, their eldest daughter and a clarinet player, graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the Moores School of Music and is a former member of the Spirit of Houston Marching Band where she marched for four years. Their second daughter, Annie, a percussionist, received her B.B. A. in Accounting in 2006 and her Master’s degree in Accountancy and Taxation in 2007 from the C. T. Bauer College of Business. Their third daughter, Ellen, earned a B.S. in Sport Administration in 2009 and a M.Ed. in Allied Health Educational Administration in 2010. Ellen also marched with the Spirit of Houston for one year as a tuba and trombone player.

While two of their children were still in college, the Thompson’s began to give generously in many ways and to many areas on campus. They began their philanthropic journey by making gifts to the UH Band as well as fully funding scholarship endowments for the colleges their daughters graduated from. Last year, they funded an endowment at the University of Houston Libraries due to Susan’s love of libraries. One of Susan’s mantras is: “If you can read, you can do anything.” They even took the steps to make legacy gifts through their wills.

Next, the UH Tier One attainment by President Renu Khator, and the subsequent developments on campus because of this new-found status, catapulted the Thompsons to a new way of giving. “The development to me was President Khator challenging the UH community with the Tier One program. The Tier One Scholars program got our initiative going. It’s the one that really grabbed us,” said John. Whereas some endowments take many years to fully mature and reach a place where they can provide scholarships, UH’s pledge to match gifts (including matching company gifts) to this scholarship program from $25,000 to $1 million had a certain, and very gratifying, immediacy. “The program was structured with a generous match, and the benefits of these gifts started flowing to the scholars immediately,” he says.

They established the John D. and Susan K. Thompson Family Tier One Endowed Scholarship in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS). Although this unique scholarship for incoming freshmen is not college specific, John and Susan elected for a “preference” for a student enrolling in CLASS.

They selected CLASS because Susan had taken a course in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences eight years ago and loved it. She was impressed by the professionalism of her instructor and by the respect she garnered for young people during the course. “It was a junior level humanities course,” she recalls, “and I walked out of it thinking, these are good kids. The world is going to be just fine.”

Of course, John admits he is motivated partly by self-interest. He’s on the management team of a substantial Houston employer who looks at UH as a rich source of young talent. The recruitment pool is likely to hold a much more educated and skilled list of candidates if they have been given the best resources during their University of Houston experience. “Susan and I have met some of these [Tier One] scholars, and they really are impressive. They are making the most of this unique program, and I suspect that when they hit the workforce, they are going to re-invest themselves in UH’s future, much like Susan and I are doing now,” states John. In other words, UH graduates are the people who will drive our University—and our city—ahead.

The Thompsons believe “Tier One is pulling the University up—it’s driving the entire University.” They feel all students enrolled at the University of Houston will benefit from the lifting up of the University by the Tier One status and the Tier One Scholars Program.

The Thompsons have other interests besides their passion for the University of Houston. Susan builds office furniture for her home office, and bedroom furniture for her children’s homes. John prefers to detail cars—like the one that proudly boasts that his three daughters have had the best start in their careers due to their education at UH.

The Bauer Excellence Initiative recruits the highest caliber of students to the University of Houston. Take Christian Madison, for example. Having been in the top 15 percent of his class in high school and having attended the Bauer Summer Business Institute both as a rising senior and as a student counselor the summer before starting college, he is a shining example of the type of Bauer Honors student the University boasts. However, he was attracted to the scholarships many other colleges offered to him. He couldn’t resist the prestige of the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, though. In his own words, “The entrepreneurship program at UH’s Bauer College had the No. 1 national ranking in the nation. It was the ticket to be able to do what I loved—theater and music—with a business degree.” Being awarded the Bauer Excellence Scholarship sealed the deal and was the reason why he chose UH over other schools, all competing to enroll him. The Bauer Excellence Scholarship ultimately made him what he is today—a hard-working, successful UH student with limitless potential.

Currently, Madison is studying pre-business at UH on this endowed scholarship and looking forward to applying for the Wolff Center. “Entertainment is where my passion is, and having my own business in the entertainment field is my goal. I knew that with a UH education, I would be equipped with the business sense I needed to succeed in the industry.” He is aware that a start-up business is part of the requirements of graduation for the Wolff Center and welcomes both that challenge and the rigorous schedule that comes along with a bachelor degree of business administration (BBA) in entrepreneurship.

Along with performing in the Honors Theater Club, Madison participates in a work-study program called the Bonner Leaders Program, which pays students to work in non-profits all over Houston. He is truly is thankful for his Bauer Excellence Scholarship. “Without it, I wouldn’t be here,” he muses.

Alumni learn quickly that UH is never far from their hearts. It was Earl Ray Monk’s love of marching band music and his admiration for David Bertman, the director of the UH Spirit of Houston marching band, that prompted him to give $100,000 to the Moores School of Music. This gift will be used by the band department and in honor of it, a conference room in the School of Music was recently renamed the Earl Ray Monk Conference Room.

“Fortunately, I’m now able to give,” he muses. Born into humble beginnings—his father passed away when he was just two-years-old and his mother raised four children on a textile mill worker’s salary—he graduated from Regan High School and joined the military. Monk served during World War II and when his military commitment ended, he enrolled at UH with financial assistance provided by the GI Bill. Monk attended the C. T. Bauer College of Business, where he also contributes generously. While still in college, he started working for the Humble Oil and Refining Company, which is now Exxon Mobil.

Like many of UH’s current students, Monk balanced full-time work with his class work and extracurricular activities. He recalls Frontier Fiesta, the student-led spring festival that was established in 1940, as being a fun-filled event that students looked forward to annually.

“Earl Ray Monk is one of the best of the best,” said Lynn Mason, Director of Development. “He gives annually, he leverages his 3-to-1 Exxon Mobil match every year, and he has included significant gifts for UH in his estate plans. He has seen so much during his lifetime and those adventures have turned into great stories that we love to hear!”

Monk credits his decades of accounting experience as the reason he has been such an avid supporter of the University: “When Exxon matches my donation three-to-one, I can’t afford not to contribute to UH,” he says.

Starting your own business is no easy task. But one Bauer graduate wants to make it easier for those across the globe to start and succeed in business.

C. T. Bauer College of Business alumna Huyen Bui’s (’10) passion for volunteerism in Houston and beyond is taking her across the globe to Vietnam in a fellowship with the non-profit Kiva.

Bui’s Bauer College concentrations in marketing and international business lead her to the application for the Kiva Fellowship Program in Vietnam, where she will be a liaison between Kiva and their microfinance institution partners. She will work directly with borrowers to post their stories online and facilitate in the lending process.

Kiva takes loans through the internet from all corners of the world and lends the money to borrowers in developing countries who have been selected by lenders through their online profiles. Borrowers use their loans to buy supplies to sustain businesses, start new a new business, or continue their education.

“The work inspires me, and I want to actually be involved in the process more,” Bui said.

Bui was a participant of Discover Leadership Training, a program previously offered in partnership with the Bauer College, and will be utilizing her leadership skills learned there during her time in Vietnam.

“This scholarship was given exclusively to Bauer students to develop their leadership skills. Not only did I learn from the classroom, but I also learned from my peers, projects and other student activities.”

Bui’s time at Bauer College also prepared her for the fellowship through participating in leadership programs and her international business courses.

“The Bauer College of Business creates opportunities for students to shine, it’s just a matter of whether you grab that chance or not.”