Alumna’s Gift Helps Students Pursue the Possible
By: Daniel Steele | September 23, 2023
A significant gift from De’Edra S. Williams MBA’00 will help students in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS) take greater advantage of the opportunities available to them during their time at The University of Texas at Dallas. De’Edra’s gift will bolster the school’s Pay It Forward emergency fund, an endowment that provides critical financial resources for students navigating unexpected challenges, while also expanding international travel opportunities for students through the Global Engagement Scholarship fund.
In recognition of her gift, a student resource room in the Founders Building has been named the De’Edra S. Williams “The Pursuit of the Possible” Resource Room.
“This dedication of ‘The Pursuit of the Possible’ Resource Room is the realization of a dream,” De’Edra said at the room’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “I hope that this will make the world a better place for UT Dallas students.”
De’Edra, a longtime advocate for UT Dallas, is the New Dimensions campaign chair for EPPS and chair of the school’s advisory council. She has also dedicated her time to mentor students through the University’s Undergraduate Success Scholars program. For De’Edra, this gift is the culmination of a personal mission to give students the kind of robust, formative college experiences that will help them develop personally and professionally.
“I want them to know that there are endless possibilities out there and that they are theirs for the taking,” she said.
De’Edra’s gift was inspired by the obstacles and opportunities she herself encountered in higher education. Growing up in Louisiana surrounded by great universities, De’Edra never questioned whether she would attend college – only how she would pay for it. When she left home to pursue a bachelor’s degree, she had $200 in her pocket and little else to support her educational ambitions.
Instead of enrolling immediately, De’Edra spent that $200 on an apartment and went to work for a year to save up for the costs of college. When she did eventually enroll at Texas Woman’s University, she maintained three jobs alongside a full-time academic workload. The difficulty of balancing work and classes left little free time to enjoy the full range of activities and enrichment offered by her school.
“I graduated with a mountain of debt and an echo of a college experience,” De’Edra said.
Seven years later, she enrolled in the Global Leadership Executive MBA program in UT Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management. Her time in this program embodied many of the same challenges from her undergraduate experience, including full-time employment and an impoverished social life.
This time, however, UT Dallas offered a hint of the possibilities she had been missing. Her program provided the opportunity for her first trip abroad to Hong Kong, an experience De’Edra said elevated her academic abilities and changed her life personally and professionally.
“While my experiences in undergrad and grad school were profound, the journeys were less than optimal,” De’Edra said. “The financial stress did not allow me to realize the personal development that is an essential part of the ideal college experience. I want UTD students to have the latitude not only to pursue an advanced degree, but to do so with the financial resources that enable them to have the most phenomenal college experience and to enjoy the journey itself, not just the destination.”
According to Dr. Jennifer Holmes, EPPS dean and the Lloyd V. Berkner Professor of political science and of public policy and political economy, the challenges that De’Edra described are ones that many UT Dallas students continue to face today.
“Just in my school, students have about $15 million of unmet financial need,” Holmes said. “It’s real, and sometimes it’s just a bad tire or a car repair. Students can’t get to work; they can’t get to classes. We’re a public institution, and we have a lot of first-generation students and students who need to work. This gift is a critical component to keeping our students on track.”
In addition to the financial assistance her gift will provide, De’Edra wanted to create something that would visibly inspire students to pursue their dreams. Working with Holmes, De’Edra decided to name a resource room where students can gather, study and receive assistance from faculty and other mentors.
“De’Edra wanted students to be inspired by her story to achieve their full capacity,” Holmes said. “This room is going to play a major role in students’ lives, and we all know that she’s achieved her goal.”
One student who has already been directly impacted by De’Edra is Lisa Rosales, a senior marketing major in the Jindal School.
“I’m a first-generation student, and before I met Miss De’Edra I didn’t know what a mentor was. I never had a person I could go to with questions about my career,” Rosales said. “I hope one day I can be like her, and give back to other students as an alumna, helping people make their dreams come true.”