Former student Cory Flanagan ’02 had an influential experience during his time at Texas A&M University. This inspired him and his wife, Katherine Flanagan, to give back by establishing the Flanagan Family Endowed Scholarship in the College of Engineering.
Katherine is a registered dietitian who holds a Master of Science degree from Sam Houston State University. Her career has allowed her to help clients with a wide range of nutritional needs. Katherine has worked in the clinical setting as well as with the government by helping to improve the performance of U.S. Air Force recruits through nutrition.
Cory was inspired by his aunt, Leah Flanagan ’84, to pursue a college education at Texas A&M. He was a proud member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band and Corps of Cadets and graduated with an undergraduate degree in recreation, parks and tourism sciences with the class of 2002.
One of the many things I learned at Texas A&M that has translated to my career is the ability to adapt, learn new skills, then apply those to whatever comes next.
Following graduation, Flanagan worked in hospitality, transportation safety and bookkeeping. Later, he became interested in cybersecurity and began taking classes at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
“Because of my grandparents, our family has been given a great opportunity, and we feel a responsibility to help others,” he said. “Creating a scholarship was always something we’ve wanted to do, but now we can make it happen.”
With the opportunities given to them, the Flanagan family wanted to help give students the same abilities to support their futures in engineering. They established the Flanagan Family Endowed Scholarship for students pursuing a minor in cybersecurity.
“We always knew that we would like to contribute to scholarships at Texas A&M, and we decided to gear this scholarship toward students learning cybersecurity because there is a huge need for it in the U.S.,” Flanagan said.
The Flanagans hope that scholarship recipients will be able to better focus on their education with reduced stress of paying tuition. They also hope that the students will choose to pay it forward by similarly helping others. The Flanagan family’s generosity will continue to provide students with the tools they need to be successful and allow them to contribute to the cybersecurity field.
“We hope the study of cybersecurity grows at Texas A&M since it is becoming more important each day as everything becomes more interconnected,” Flanagan said.
How To Give
Endowments supporting students in the college have an immeasurable impact on their education. If you are interested in supporting the College of Engineering and its departments or would like more information on how you can give, please contact one of our development officers.