34 consecutive years of giving. But who’s counting.
She’s just giving back to the university that has given her so much.
University of Nebraska at Omaha alum Roberta Williams has given to the UNO Annual Fund for each of the past 34 years. But she’s not counting, she’s just giving back to the university that has given her so much.
“I graduated from Omaha University in 1968 and earned a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1976,” Williams said. “The excellent education I received helped me achieve my goal of being a successful teacher for 30 years.”
Williams attended UNO with her sister, JoAnne, who also became a teacher. Their mother stayed at home and their father worked at a packing house. Williams said that at the time, UNO was all her parents could afford and she is very grateful for their support.
The experience was money well spent.
“It allowed me to do something I loved. It probably improved our lifestyle economically above what our parents had, and you can always use a good education.”
After graduating in January 1968, Williams married her husband, Jim, and stayed home with her two children, Laura Williams Andersen and Anne-Marie Williams. Roberta said she was too short on money right out of school, and began donating in 1976.
“I had received a quality education and thought by donating that I could possibly enable other students to attend the university.”
Although Williams says her donation is “not much,” it still helps to enable students to achieve a higher education.
Daughter Laura studied at Bellevue University on a volleyball scholarship and daughter Anne-Marie attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she participated in the marching band.
Williams now lives in Bellevue and is retired from teaching. She works part time in computer support at St. Margaret Mary School in Omaha and stays busy with her five grandchildren, ages 4 to 11.
If you’d also like to support your college, please consider giving online at nufoundation.org or call 800-432-3216. If you’d like to support the UNO Annual Fund, you can give online, or contact the foundation’s Mary Kenny, Director of Annual Campaigns at 402-502-4924.
Jessica Sorensen, a public relations intern at the University of Nebraska Foundation, wrote this story. Sorensen will be a senior in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Sorensen has studied four years of Spanish and volunteers at the Animal Humane Society.
