When Steve Willard ('80) graduated, he barely had a B average. "Grades don't reflect your ability to make it in the real world," he says. "Sometimes life requires you to work, take care of family or juggle responsibilities outside the classroom. I want to support students who keep going anyway."

Decades later, after a distinguished career culminating as executive vice president of business development at ETAN Industries, Willard and his wife, Barbara Hoffman, turned their attention to the places that launched them. In 2021, more than 40 years after his graduation, Steve committed a planned gift to the G. Brint Ryan College of Business that will establish an endowed scholarship for students with GPAs between 2.0 and 3.0, meant for scholars who often slip under the radar but embody the same determination Willard remembers from his own college years.

Willard's empathy for hardworking students extends naturally to UNT's first-generation community. Although he wasn't a first-generation student himself, Willard feels a deep connection to those who are blazing that trail. He admires the G. Brint Ryan College of Business programs that surround first-gen students with encouragement and practical tools -- especially the Wilson Jones Career Center, which helps them learn how to interview, present themselves and take confident steps toward their careers.

"It's so important how the business school takes those first-gen students, keeps them motivated and guides them to the end game," he says.

Willard has also invested his time and energy, serving as vice chair of the G. Brint Ryan College of Business Dean's Advisory Board. There, he partnered with corporate leaders and helped raise more than $1.5 million to strengthen the college. What meant the most to him, though, was hearing those companies consistently praise UNT students for the very quality Willard values most: their work ethic.

"That resonated with me," he says. "I got my first job right here on campus, interviewing with Union Carbide. The people who hired me were UNT graduates. They knew I would work hard, and they knew that hard work produces results."

That lesson has carried Willard from his first job interview to boardrooms around the country -- and now, into a well-earned retirement on the Florida coast. In 2023, he was inducted into the G. Brint Ryan College of Business Hall of Fame, honored for his career achievements and his dedication to lifting up future generations.

 “UNT taught me the basics and gave me the drive,” he reflects. “They showed me that hard work would produce results. Any success I’ve had, I can trace back to UNT.”