Perseverance and Paying It Forward
Tanya Burns
When Tanya Burns, a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, landed her dream job as a Human Resources Business Partner at Intel, she paused to reflect on her journey.
“I’d worked so hard and overcome so many obstacles to get to that point,” she recalls. “There were times when I didn’t know how I was going to make it.”
Tanya grew up in a small Virginia town. Her single mother hadn’t finished school and worked long hours in a factory. “I didn’t want to repeat that cycle.” Tanya enrolled at James Madison University, but as a first-generation student with limited resources, she felt overwhelmed and struggled.
Tanya dropped out of school and went to work at a bank. Not long after, she became a single mother, too. “I found myself raising my son alone, stuck in a job that offered no future. I had to change my trajectory for both of our sakes.”
Juggling work and parenting while maintaining a near-perfect GPA, Tanya completed Mary Baldwin University’s Adult Degree Program in 1997. But when she returned to the bank, she was told she lacked experience.
Undeterred, she decided to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Arizona, though it felt like a long shot. “I had never been west of Ohio. But when I met the Eller staff and explained my situation as a single parent, they were nothing but supportive.” Professors even allowed her son Korey to sit in on classes with her.
After completing her MBA in 1999, Tanya's career flourished, with HR roles at IBM, American Airlines, and Goodwill. Korey chose to attend U of A as well. “I’ve had a successful career,” she says, “but my greatest success is my son.”
Earning a degree changed Tanya Burns’ life. Now she’s helping others do the same. Working with the U of A Gift Planning team, she established the Tanya L. and Korey S. Burns Family Scholarship Endowment Fund to help students from underserved communities pursue their dreams.
“You don’t have to be a billionaire to make an impact,” she concludes. “You can use what you have to change someone’s life.”