Wes and Jan Houser bank on the future
Wes and Jan Houser
As the first college student in his immediate family, Wes Houser graduated from Kansas State University in 1963 with a business administration degree. Wes and Jan Houser consider supporting Kansas and community a priority, and one way they’ve done this is through a planned gift to K-State.
“I did not receive support when I went to college, but it was a lot easier to go to K-State in the ’50s and ’60s because of the difference in cost,” said Wes. “My first semester, I paid $118 and could take 18-21 hours. I could pay for my education by baling hay in the summers and later by working part time. It’s a very different thing to do now — to pay for your education working part time and summers.”
Wes said his degree from K-State afforded him opportunities he would not have had he not gone to college. “Kansas State University opened doors for me I would never have had without it.”
Lydia Johnson, Kansas State University sophomore, credits the Housers and the College of Business Administration for helping her afford her K-State education.
With Wes’ business leadership in the community and Jan’s civic leadership as a Columbus, Kansas, city councilwoman, education and supporting their community are important to the Housers. They created an estate gift, using a charitable gift annuity, to support K-State students in the College of Business Administration. By creating a charitable gift annuity, the Housers realized a charitable tax deduction and a fixed stream of income related to the gift for the rest of their lives. They also applied a portion of the gift now to create the Wes and Jan Houser Scholarship and support students today.
Lydia Johnson, sophomore and member of K-State’s sales team, is the current recipient of Wes and Jan’s scholarship. “The only way I was able to come to K-State was from the generosity of the Housers and College of Business Administration,” said Lydia.
The desire to impact others is something Lydia shares with the Housers. “I believe in supporting whatever I can in Kansas,” said Jan. “We need to support our home state. I hope this support allows students who want to better themselves by going to school at K-State and by staying in Kansas.”