Change Makers: Eleven years of Forty Acres Scholars reflect on their paths since graduation.

Ten graduating classes—11 this May—of Forty Acres Scholars Program alumni have used their time after leaving campus to make an impact since the program’s founding in 2011. Administered by the Texas Exes, the program is UT’s premier merit-based, full-ride scholarship, and it is built on the pillars of community, connection, and discovery. A few alumni shared their experiences since graduating, and while some continue to pursue lifelong passions, others pivoted from their original paths. From holding institutions accountable, advancing global health, empowering young entrepreneurs, and everything in between, this growing community of Longhorns is changing the world.

Chiara Eisner, BS ’15  

Investigative reporter, NPR  

Washington, D.C.  

As an undergraduate studying public health, Chiara Eisner planned to attend medical school, but something changed after graduation. Eisner began to read investigative reporting, and she realized working as a journalist would elevate her impact. Since receiving a Master of Science in investigative reporting from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Eisner has reported for The Economist, The Guardian, WIRED, Scientific American, The Boston Globe, and more, using science, sensitivity, and creativity to ground her work. In 2024, her reporting’s impact was recognized with a National Press Club Award. For Eisner, impact can mean policy change or simply changing one person’s mind. “It’s pretty rare to have a job that allows you to really influence people and influence people in power, and change things that you believe are wrong, fix things for the better,” Eisner says. “There aren’t that many jobs that allow you to do that. This is one of them, and I’m really grateful for that.”  

Mary Elizabeth Guerra, BA, BSA ’16  

General surgery resident, Baylor College of Medicine  

Houston, TX  

Growing up as the granddaughter of a surgeon in McAllen, Texas, Guerra saw the impact of medicine on her community. At UT, Guerra studied basic science and conducted research, and after graduation, she attended Yale School of Medicine, with family and mentors encouraging her along the way. A mentor in medical school directed her to a mentor at Baylor, which led her to a research focus on wound healing and scarring. For this research, Guerra was awarded a $30,000, one-year grant through the Society of University Surgeons Resident Research Scholar Award in 2024. The path to medicine isn’t easy or brief, but Guerra’s focus on day-to-day patient care has withstood the challenge. “All of your days start with making a wound in the patient,” Guerra says. “Studying the mechanisms behind how people heal, or why some people scar better than others, is a very interesting way for me to apply basic science to something that I’m clinically interested in.”

Micky Wolf, BA, BBA ’18  

CEO, Dent Education  

Baltimore, MD  

Micky Wolf credits the values of his Jewish upbringing and heritage with teaching him to ask questions about the world in an effort to make it better. Entrepreneurship based in positive psychology is the pathway he’s now chosen to solve the problems that his questions reveal. At UT, he used his role as student body vice president to enact positive change. Whether it was two weeks on a train in India with the nonprofit Jagriti Yatra program, or a two-year fellowship with Venture for America, Wolf immerses himself among changemakers. He joined Dent Education as their first full-time hire, becoming CEO in March 2023. Now, Wolf is ready to continue developing Dent Education and his community. “I’m most excited to continue a life that strikes a balance between position and career with relationships and people,” Wolf says. “Part of my motivation is to live a unique life—a great story—that involves being present with a lot of people along the way.”  

Janelle Chavez, BSA ’19  

OB-GYN resident, Baylor College of Medicine  

Houston, TX  

Janelle Chavez’s pursuit of medicine was borne from a natural inclination to help people and seeing the need for doctors in the Rio Grande Valley where she grew up. Through programs such as Global Medical Training at UT, Chavez volunteered abroad in the Dominican Republic and Peru, working with different clinics in underserved areas in the world. She attended Stanford University School of Medicine as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar and later as a fellow for their Global Health Media Fellowship, where she worked with CNN’s global health team. Chavez, whose sentimental nature has centered her work, is now focused on bringing all she has learned back to Texas. “To one day work in the Valley and give back in some capacity, I think that’d be extremely gratifying,” Chavez says. “I feel so honored to be involved in some of the most intimate moments in people’s lives.”  

Ricky Cooks, BA ’21  

Legislative assistant, Public Strategies Washington, Inc.  

Washington, D.C.  

After witnessing first-hand his own ability to make demonstrable change while volunteering as a youth, Ricky Cooks was inspired to pursue a career in public service. Cooks made the shift to government in his junior year after starting in Business Honors. The natural move after graduating was to Washington, D.C., which Cooks calls a sleepy city the world seems to revolve around. In D.C., Cooks examines the intricate system between the Capitol, private business, nonprofits, lobbyists like himself, and constituents. For his work, Cooks was one of the youngest to be recognized as a 2025 New Leaders Council Program Fellow where he will continue learning skills in community outreach and advocacy. “It feels really good, and it’s very scary at the same time, to truly feel like my fate is in my hands,” Cooks says. “I’ve just really been able to better understand that what happens next is up to me.”  

Michael Smith, BBA ’22  

Director of Training and Finance, Chick-fil-A  

Orange, TX  

After working at Dell Technologies for a year-and-a-half—half of which was spent working nights at Chick-fil-A—Michael Smith realized he enjoyed his five-to-nine more than his nine-to-five. It was a return to Smith’s childhood roots in hospitality from helping at his father’s restaurants in Spring, Texas. After graduating with Business Honors and taking his skills to Dell Technologies, he still had a calling to use entrepreneurship in the service of his community. Smith decided with his wife, a UT alumna, to transition to Chick-fil-A because of its values and operator business model. Smith hopes to one day operate his own Chick-fil-A franchise and plans to apply for their leadership development program, where he will rotate through restaurants across the country. “I am just glad that I am enjoying my life and my youth, and though the road ahead isn’t guaranteed by any means, I’m enjoying myself,” Smith says. “We’re happy, and we’re together, and I think I’m just excited for the possibilities.”  

Aditi Merchant, BS ’23  

Bioengineering PhD student and Knight-Hennessy Scholar, Stanford University  

Palo Alto, CA  

Tinkering with trains and robotics started Aditi Merchant’s interest in invention, which she paired with engineering and biology as she grew up. This drew her work away from the tangible, but it grew even more impactful. Inspired in part by her experience volunteering at a senior living facility and witnessing the lonesome effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Merchant founded Big & Mini in 2020, a program that has connected thousands of young and older adults to bridge the generation gap. Since graduating, Merchant has continued innovating. Her lab at Stanford is now working on applying artificial intelligence to synthetic biology by using language modeling to better understand and engineer life in a way that can lead to better therapeutics and new treatments. Even now, Merchant focuses on physical results. “Seeing the research I do make it in the hands of patients,” Merchant says, “would make me feel very fulfilled in terms of what I would hope to see in the future.”  

Olivia Pierce, BS ’24  

Project management intern, Walt Disney Imagineering  

Orlando, FL  

Olivia Pierce always knew she wanted to tell stories, just not in the most traditional sense. Family trips to Disney as a child introduced Pierce to immersive worlds and storytelling through mechanics and engineering. At UT, she served as the president of the Texas Theme Park Engineering and Design Group, where she had some of her favorite memories, while also working in theater, setting the stage for all to come. But before telling the story of immersive worlds, she first had to venture out and learn from this one. The year she spent studying abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, empowered Pierce to use an imaginative and collaborative approach to engineering, and upon graduation, Pierce was accepted into her dream job at Walt Disney. “I’m excited to continue to add joy to the world,” Pierce says. “That is what I perceive to be my purpose, is to add joy, and so I’m excited to continue to see those things that I have a hand in creating bring joy to others.”

Brydn Abraham, BA, BBA ’25  

Corps member, Teach for America  

Austin, TX  

With only two backpacks at the age of 20, Brydn Abraham traveled abroad for 200 days while blogging for people back home. Spanning more than 200,000 miles, from the Sahara desert to the tallest mountain in Switzerland, it was the most daring trip that almost never happened. His adventure affirmed a simple truth: Abraham has a talent for making the most of life. As a quadruple-major in Business Honors, Plan II Honors, management, and psychology, Abraham went the extra mile in the classroom. Through leading Texas Mock Trial, Abraham worked with his team to move from the top 300 to the top three nationally. In Austin’s inaugural Teach for America chapter, Abraham is returning to the classroom for his students. His recent trip to Costa Rica with his FASP cohort affirmed a second truth: Wherever Abraham goes, he will carry his people with him. “It’s almost like they’re re-entering my life, even though they’ve always been here,” Abraham says. “It’s so inspiring to be surrounded by all these people who are the best in their fields, doing really amazing things.”  

CREDITS: From top, Matt Wright-Steel; courtesy of Chiara Eisner; courtesy of Micky Wolf; courtesy of Janelle Chavez; courtesy of Brydn Abraham