Darrell D. Rocha Scholarship in Communication

Scholarships helped Katina Johnson make it through school. So did Darrell Rocha.

She has found a way to express her appreciation for both — by endowing a scholarship honoring the assistant dean who helped her succeed.

“From the very beginning Darrell was there, he’s like a second dad to me.”

– Katina Johnson

As assistant dean of student affairs in the College of Communication, Rocha kept his door open and his office stocked with treats. He coached students in the life skills they would need beyond college, even arranging informal sessions on etiquette.

Before Johnson came to UT, no one in her family had gone to college. Her parents couldn’t afford to send her to school, but scholarships made it possible. Now the Darrell D. Rocha Scholarship in Communication will help other first-generation college students from underprivileged backgrounds.

Johnson graduated from UT with a journalism degree in 1995 and now manages an online support team for Google.