Gratitude in Action: Creating Opportunity for Female STEM Students

Katherine Masoner Crockett '64 never forgot the privilege of the tuition-free education she received from Rice University, and she is determined to extend that opportunity to talented female STEM students.

"I have had two great fortunes in my life," Katherine (Katie) Masoner Crockett '64 said. The first began in her junior year of high school, when a friend's father from Dallas told her that the Rice Institute was the place to study mathematics. Katherine was intrigued and then impressed by the free tuition and stellar academics. That sage advice would change the trajectory of her life.

As a college freshman, Katherine boarded a train in Washington, D.C., bound for Houston. She'd never been to the Rice campus, but she was determined to study mathematics.

In the 1960s, when Katherine was an undergraduate, few women studied in STEM fields. "I later realized that I would have made a great engineer because I am a problem solver. I am so very happy that Rice has made so many changes to be more inclusive."

Katherine's second great fortune occurred shortly after graduation. While meeting with a friend on campus, she ran into an IBM recruiter who just happened to have an open interview spot. She took the appointment and parlayed that meeting into a 25-year career as a computer programmer, starting at IBM at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Later, she moved to Los Angeles, working in aerospace (including a stint in Australia for six months) and corporate programming.

"Receiving a tuition-free Rice education made a huge financial difference to my family," Katherine explained. "I've always wanted to pay it back, to give other students the same opportunity that helped me."

To accomplish this charitable goal, Katherine has established two charitable gift annuities with Rice. These annuities provide quarterly payments to Katherine for life, and later, the remainder of the gift will go toward a need-based scholarship to support female undergraduate STEM students. "These charitable gift annuities allowed me to give toward a cause I feel passionate about while keeping my own finances stable," Katherine said. "I am thrilled that this money will eventually become a part of the endowment and continue to help students for generations." Katherine's charitable gift annuities also earned a matching gift under The Rice Investment Matching Gift Program, which will double her gifts' impact in support of general financial aid scholarships.