Healing through Music
Healing through Music Program’s graduates speak the languages of music and health care RESEARCH THAT MATTERS AS ANY seasoned musician will tell you, music is both an art and a science. It’s about the physics of sound and the magic of rhythm. TWU faculty are uncovering music’s power to heal by training accomplished musicians to become compassionate music therapists. As health care practitioners, their task is to help alleviate pain, enhance memory and improve cognitive functions in stroke patients, children and neurologically diverse individuals. TWU’s undergraduate music therapy program is one of only five — and the only master’s program — in Texas. Training in piano, voice, guitar and percussion, as well as courses in the psychology of music and anatomy and physiology, prepares grads for a national exam that leads to board certification. Preparation pays off, as TWU’s graduates have a pass rate of 67% compared to 51% nationally, according to the Certification Board for Music Therapists. # 1 The only music therapy master’s program in Texas > Music therapy students BRANDON CARRASCO ’25 and XITLALY LULE ’26 12 TEXAS WOMAN’S
PLANNING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE PAYING IT FORWARD EDUCATION IS empowering. It can be a catalyst that lifts people from all walks of life to new levels of economic, social and professional opportunity. And it can echo through future generations, changing the trajectory of a family for all time. Planned giving is one way to extend intergenerational benefits. Such gifts to TWU have the power to sustain and shape the institution. Planned gifts create a flexible and charitable legacy, enabling donors to “pay it forward” by acknowledging the role TWU played in their lives. MEETING CRITICAL NEEDS Special education is a critical area of need that Alicia B. Quinn ’94, a librarian, plans to support by dedicating a portion of her estate to TWU. Her planned gift will help prepare teachers and researchers to work with students with exceptional needs. Another alumna’s passion for literacy will live on through her planned gift. The late Distinguished Alumna and Cornaro Professor of Reading Emerita Billie J. Askew ’82 was an influential leader and contributor to national and international Reading Recovery efforts, including TWU’s programs, which she founded in 1989. Student-athletes and Pioneer Athletics have inspired generous support from Bettejoe “Smokey” Rogers Pendleton ’58 for nearly a decade. Not only did she establish a scholarship endowment, she also gifted a portion of her estate, leaving a lasting legacy for TWU’s athletics program. “It is an awesome and rewarding responsibility for us to know that Bettejoe Rogers Pendleton believes in our ability to magnify the mission of the university through academics, athletics and leadership development,” said Sandee Mott, director of athletics. Quinn, Askew and Pendleton are among the many donors who’ve chosen to be catalysts for change — opening doors to a better life and a better world for future generations. Learn more about planned gifts Visit plannedgiving.twu.edu TEXAS WOMAN’S 13
