From Rural Roots to Remarkable Careers

Donors Give Back to University that Gave Them Their Start

By Robyn Murray

Gail and Jim Anderson’s story begins on small farms in rural Nebraska. Gail grew up in the village of Shelton, near Kearney, and Jim was raised in Coleridge, a village in the northeast corner of the state. On those farms, the couple, who are Burnett Society members, gained a strong work ethic that helped them succeed not only at the university, but later in life as they traveled across the country and built successful careers at large companies. Gail excelled in major hospitals, while Jim thrived at Hughes Aircraft, an aerospace engineering giant founded by the legendary aviator Howard Hughes.

Their journey was shaped by the values they learned on the farm and the rigorous education they received at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Jim, the first in his family to attend college, faced a significant adjustment moving from a class of just 23 students to the large classrooms at UNL.

“It was either sink or swim,” Jim recalled. “You either decided you had to buckle down and study or you had to drop out and do something else.”

Jim’s determination and work ethic saw him through while others struggled. He shared a dorm with two roommates from small towns, one of whom was so homesick he dropped out. But Jim persevered and focused on his studies.

“I felt like I had to study every possible minute because I was way behind the kids from Lincoln and Omaha,” he said. “Everything was new to me, but I got through because of my work ethic. I just kept my head down and studied.”

His perseverance paid off, leading to a successful career in satellite communications and ground radar systems, including roles at Hughes Aircraft Company and The Aerospace Corporation.

Gail, having seen her brother attend the university first, had a better sense of what to expect. She pursued nursing, finding the experience both challenging and rewarding, academically and socially. Living in the dorms, she formed a close-knit group of friends with whom she remains in contact. It helped that she knew she was on the right path.

“I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was knee-high to a grasshopper,” Gail said.

After graduation, Gail worked in medical-surgical nursing, nursing education, nursing informatics and quality assurance and case management at multiple hospitals, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and Adventist Health Glendale. She also taught nursing at a community college in Los Angeles.

A significant influence in Gail’s life was her aunt, Lydia Mae Fetherston Swinford, affectionately known as Aunt Fethers. Aunt Fethers put herself through nursing school in Grand Island and was the first in the family to establish a fund to support the university through the University of Nebraska Foundation. The Lydia Mae Fethers Swinford Scholarship Fund continues to support nursing students at UNMC.

Inspired by Aunt Fethers, Gail and Jim have created two endowed professorships — one supporting the College of Nursing at UNMC and another supporting the College of Engineering at UNL. Their contributions, both outright and through their estate, aim to recruit and retain top faculty members, ensuring the continued excellence of these programs.

Gail and Jim say they wanted to give back partly because of the university’s efforts to support students from small towns and encourage them to work in Nebraska.

“The students that come out of the university that grew up in small towns have a great work ethic,” Jim said, “and they do well transitioning into major roles.”

That was their experience, and they want to ensure others have the same.

“We feel like Nebraska had a major role in getting us from where we were at in high school academically to prepare us for our careers,” Jim said. “We earned advanced degrees out here [in California], but we retained our love for Nebraska and the university.”