Those outside the department probably had an impression of Donna as being overzealous in her pursuits for the department to grow and excel. That is exactly what was needed back then. Without Donna, this program might well be right back where it was 25 years ago. Many of the inductees talked about high-profile athletes having a sense of responsibility to do something more than just play their sport. Anyone who has had success here has had several people who were instrumental in that success.
Nobody does it alone.
We foster the idea that it is like a relay. Each group of student-athletes passes that concept on to the next class. It also is why we stress the importance of our student-athletes being involved in their community, and that is where programs like Neighborhood Longhorns come in. We talk to our student-athletes about this responsibility a lot, but I think they get most of it by the example set by others. In a similar vein, you recently made a public appearance on behalf of an effort to achieve equal health care benefits for women.