David & Karyn Hill

Hometown:
Henderson, Texas

Pass it on. These words resonated with David Hill (BBA '78, JD '81) when he graduated from Baylor University. Now, 23 years later, David has established an endowed scholarship in honor of the couple who originally spoke those words to him. "I could give everything in a scholarship and not make up what was done for me at Baylor," he reflected.

Perhaps most influential in David's survival story was Audrey Gray, his campus job supervisor at the Student Union Building. Mrs. Gray and her husband, Howard, had three sons of their own, but David became another member of the family.

The Grays even gave David opportunities to earn additional money doing odd jobs around their house. "I can't tell you how many times I painted their garage," he quipped. "The truth is the Grays did not need me—I needed them."

When David graduated from Baylor Law School in 1981, he went to say goodbye to the family who had given him so much. He remembers: "I told them, 'You've done all these things for me. I don't know if I could ever repay you.' And Mrs. Gray truly did say, 'You don't need to repay us anything. Just pass it on.'"

David and Karyn contributed to current scholarships for several years, but in 2004 decided to focus their efforts on a formal consummation of the 'pass it on' concept when they established the Howard F., Jr. and Audrey Hopper Gray Endowed Scholarship Fund.

"There's no way we would be where we are today if it weren't for the help I received," David, who has practiced law in Henderson, Texas, for almost 25 years, said. "Just pass it on—what an amazing concept. The Grays' attitude was that helping me was just part of life and their reward would be seeing me pass their generosity on."