Growing up in West Columbia, Texas, Betty Bird developed a love for history. When she enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin, she knew she wanted to be an educator. She combined her passions for a more than 30-year career as a high school U.S. History teacher.
After graduating from the College of Education in 1963, Bird started her career in Victoria, Texas. After five years, she returned to Austin and she taught U.S. History at McCallum, where she had done her student teaching. From there, Bird went to Austin’s Crockett High School, where she taught the subject for 27 years. “It was exciting to see my students learn, to know that many of them developed a love for history, too,” she says.
Bird’s love for education and her experience in the College of Education has inspired her to make a gift to the College through her estate to establish The Betty S. Bird Endowed Scholarship in Education. She chose scholarship support because, “when I was on the faculty at Crockett, I was on the scholarship committee for more than 20 years. You see the need that students have when you’re in a situation like that.”
Bird wants to benefit generations of future graduates. “I hope new teachers enjoy teaching as much as I did. I hope I made an impact on my students and that future College of Education graduates have an impact on theirs,” she says.
