A check-presentation event held Jan. 9 at the Naveen Jindal School of Management fulfills an alumna’s dream of giving back to her alma mater for the education and opportunities it has afforded her.
The Tina T. Hoang Endowed Scholarship for Management at UT Dallas has been growing, as has its namesake’s career. Now Tina Hoang, BS’09, financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual-DFW, is joined by the scholarship’s inspiration, Suzy Batiz, creator of Poo-Pourri, in supporting the endowment. Pourri, the makers of Poo-Pourri — a hugely successful bathroom freshener product — contributed to the gift. Batiz is chief executive visionary officer of Pourri.
“My family didn’t have much money growing up and I had to learn early how to earn it,” Hoang said. “I became an investor in three gyms when I was 22 and even bought my first rental property at 26, working, learning and focusing … I always wanted to create a scholarship and I thought, ‘Why not now?’ I started looking into it.”
Hoang took a professional development course offered through Batiz’women’s business group that she found to be an inspiration.
“It focused on the spiritual part of your journey, how an introspective look at yourself can help you in many ways, including when it comes to finances and thinking about money in a positive way,” she said. “One session really focused on what holds you back from something and I learned about what was holding me back.”
Hoang, who grew up in Frisco and was a cum laude graduate of the Bachelor’s in Business Administration degree program at the Jindal School, learned about different ways to overcome financial hurdles and also has been able to involve others.
She acted on the lessons she learned and created the Tina T. Hoang Endowed Scholarship for Management, targeting Jindal School undergraduate students who have financial need and, if possible, women who are involved with women’s professional groups.
“I gave, my company has contributed and the school has also contributed,” she said. “It keeps growing and it represents what happens when people work together.”
Batiz, who was able to attend college only for about a year, is honored to have inspired Hoang and finds the focus of the scholarship particularly meaningful.
“What I really appreciate is that we’re able to help other women relieve some of that burden and hopefully have them be able to complete their education in a way that I would have wanted to when I was young,” Batiz said.
Hoang partly lives her belief in improving financial knowledge through her role as a financial adviser for Northwestern Mutual, serving in the position since 2015.
“It’s important to me to give clients knowledge and have it open doors for them like it has for me,” she said. “Money isn’t something we have to be afraid of. It’s an opportunity.”
She sees the scholarship as another opportunity to show her appreciation to the Jindal School, which she credits as a vital part of her growth.
“I have been so impressed with the rise of the school and how more people are learning about it and how students are getting a chance to benefit just like I did,” she said. “I feel very lucky to have received my education there and felt so comfortable there. I hope the people who benefit from the scholarship will be inspired to help others also. It feels good to help now and to think in an abundant way.”
