Mid-Year Impact Report - Summer 2021

MID-YEAR IMPACT REPORT SUMMER 2021

INSPIRE EMPOWERING TX WOMEN LEADERS

Ximena Mercado Garcia, Economics and Mathematics '22 Mary Braunagel-Brown Excellence Fund for Young Women's Leadership and Leslie Fallon and Carter Copeland Scholarship in Liberal Arts

INSPIRE is a unique and transformative space at UT. While students are provided professional development workshops, travel to conferences, and assistance as they work on group and personal projects, the biggest impact of this program might be that it provides the space and time to step back and reflect on what it means to be a female student, more than likely a first-generation college student, and more often than not in male dominated careers.

As an international student majoring in male-dominated fields, finding a community as a freshman was hard. Although I was part of some student organizations, I was looking for a group in which I could feel I belonged while being who I am. That’s how I decided to apply to INSPIRE after my first year at UT. I’m so happy that I did. INSPIRE celebrates diversity while empowering its female members to advance in their careers. Through this program, I have found a cohort of extraordinary fellow womxn* in which we have been able to grow together through our time in college. Lily Kunda, a graduate student in the Department of Radio-Television-Film who serves as our current facilitator, has worked really hard to create a space for us to develop academically, professionally, and as individuals.

Even in a virtual setting, Lily has done a fantastic job in strengthening our community. During the fall semester, we collaborated on a social media project called “Small Therapies.” This project is dedicated to sharing small methods of coping and thriving through college life and beyond. We have also participated in activities that promote womxn empowerment. Last semester, we read Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks, and each of us gave a short presentation on a different chapter of the book. Sessions, like this one, have broadened our perspective in relation to this movement towards a more inclusive one. Also, this year our cohort was invited, for the first time, to present at the 28th Annual Emerging Scholarship in Women's and Gender Studies Graduate Conference, whose theme was The Rest for Us: Feminist Care in Times of Crisis. Some of our members shared their work and experiences, which was very powerful.

INSPIRE has sponsored my participation in amazing events, too. Last month, I virtually attended the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders 2021, which is organized every year by the American Association of University Women. I had the opportunity to network with hundreds of outstanding female students from all over the United States and listen to compelling speeches, such as Dr. Brittney Cooper’s keynote. Additionally, INSPIRE has also allowed us to connect with our peers and ourselves through social events, such as virtual paint nights. I’m very grateful for being part of this wonderful program, as it has definitely enhanced my college experience. I would encourage rising sophomores to apply, as I assure them they will get INSPIREd by all the talented people that are part of it. ______________ *Womxn is an intersectional term intended to signal the inclusion of those who have traditionally been excluded from feminist discourse.

REMEMBERING DR. GEORGE JOSEPH SHIA Dr. George Joseph Shia Memorial Endowed Presidential Fellowship in Liberal Arts

How do you best honor someone and the impact he made to others during his life? This was the question in mind for family members of Dr. George J. Shia after he passed away on November 22, 2019.

His wife, Claire, and two of his six daughters, Sylvia Jabour and Adrienne Draper, thoughtfully considered ways to commemorate his life. “Dad was a huge presence in our lives, and we wanted to honor him – and thank him for his support – in a significant way,” Sylvia and Adrienne explained.

Given his firm belief in the transformative nature of education, the family gravitated toward honoring his life and legacy through a gift to UT Austin, a place he loved and where he earned his MBA degree in 1984.

The son of Lebanese immigrants, George grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia during the Great Depression. He saw firsthand how poverty and lack of education debilitated communities. His father, who had only attended school through sixth grade, instilled in George the importance of education. As a first-generation college student, George received an undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. He then graduated from the School of Dentistry at the University of Pittsburgh. He subsequently joined the Air Force to serve his country. Upon completion of his military service, George obtained specialty training in the graduate program in Orthodontics at Columbia University. While in New York, he met Claire. They soon married and moved to Austin where extended family was living.

George practiced orthodontics for over fifty years in Austin, and he treated thousands of children and adults. Many of his patients had cleft palates and special needs. A devout Catholic, George deeply valued his church, family, and work. He approached the world with optimism, living as best as he could in the present. His generosity spread beyond his family, and he often helped others pursue their education. “He realized how education could change your life,” Sylvia and Adrienne remember, “and he also recognized how hard it was to pay for school and avoid debt.” Given his own experience, he understood the value of both an undergraduate and graduate education.

George’s love for education kept leading Claire, Sylvia, and Adrienne back to the Forty Acres as they pondered different gifting ideas. The family had previously established a Memorial Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Plan II in honor of their deceased son and brother, Gregory Shia. They ultimately decided honoring George similarly would best capture the tremendous impact he had on them and countless others throughout his life.

“Attracting the top graduate students is a key factor in assessing the quality of our departments and our institution, and without fellowship endowments we could not do this. I am deeply grateful for the impact the family’s commitment will have on our effort to recruit and support the very best scholars to the College.”

- Dean Ann Huff Stevens

With Sylvia and Adrienne being UT graduates themselves, as well as members of the College of Liberal Arts Advisory Council, they understood the importance of graduate student support in the College of Liberal Arts. They also knew graduate student support is a high priority for Dean Stevens and the College. Given the impact a graduate degree made in George’s life, they decided to create the Dr. George Joseph Shia Memorial Endowed Presidential Fellowship in Liberal Arts. This endowment will support generations of Liberal Arts graduate students, in perpetuity.

Through this endowment, graduate students will continue to receive the support they need. George’s legacy of hard work, and his encouragement and support of young people, will continue to live on, forever.

website: liberalarts.utexas.edu phone: 512-232-8143 The College of Liberal Arts The University of Texas at Austin 116 Inner Campus Dr., Stop G6000 Austin, TX 78712