Alumni Generosity Ensures Bright Future

While a majority of Truett’s alumni are in their early and middle years of ministry, seasons often marked by limited giving capacity, Truett Alumni have played a significant role in supporting their seminary through their financial contributions.

Over the years, Truett Alumni have combined their efforts to form an endowed Alumni Scholarship that provides three or more scholarships for Truett students each year. Others choose to support the Grace
Table, a long-standing Truett ministry of providing peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches or lunchables for hungry Truett students in the student lounge.  Still others give to the Dean’s Excellence fund or to other initiatives that directly benefit current students.

Ryan and Katy Hodges recently served as Truett’s Alumni co-presidents, a role in which they have served since 2019. Katy serves as the Minister of Congregational Life at First Baptist Church of Arlington, and Ryan serves as the Ministry Partner Development Director in the Center for Collegiate Ministry with Texas Baptists.

While both are early in their ministry careers, they made the decision early on in their marriage and ministry to give annually to Truett. According to Katy, “We think Truett is truly great, and we both had wonderful, formative experiences there. Because of this, we want a Truett education to be as accessible and affordable as possible. We want to help make Truett an easy financial choice for potential students. The more we grow in our capacity to give, the more we want to give back to this place that means so much to us!”

In their roles as Truett Alumni co-presidents, Ryan and Katy encouraged other alumni to give to grow the endowed Alumni Scholarship. One of the Seminary’s goals is to endow a scholarship for every Truett student.

Few of Truett’s 1,700 alumni are able to give large gifts or endow a scholarship of their own. But as a community of alumni who benefitted as students from the generosity of others, they can do their part to pool efforts to create further scholarship opportunities and find other ways to support current and future Truett students.

Ryan says, “If you are considering giving to Truett, I would assure you that the money you give will be stewarded well and go toward directly impacting the lives of ministers in training. As each of us grow in our ability to give, I would encourage us to consider partnering with Truett to ensure a bright future for the seminary, and an increasingly debt-free future for alumni. What a blessing we can be to the church!”

What a blessing, indeed! Truett Seminary is grateful for The Hodges' service to Truett Alumni and for their generosity to Truett's students.