21-year-old Indian-origin Savita Shan would have graduated by May, but a mass shooting on March 1 took her life. Her parents Shan Muthian and Selvi Shan refused to continue mourning and announced the Savitha Shanmugasundaram Endowed Scholarship Fund. Her parents want to raise $500,000 as they invite donors to help the underprivileged student. The University of Texas promised that they would match dollar for dollar to honor Savita’s legacy and the endowment would be doubled to $1 million. The donation page states that donor names will be shared with the family unless anonymity is requested.Her memorial website states that in addition to UT, several companies have committed to matching employee donations to the Savita Shan Endowed Scholarship, meaning they will donate an amount equal to the amount donated to the fund by any of their employees. The website listed Visa, PwC and Apple as interested companies.Her father said that the donors may not get any concrete benefits, but it would make Savita happy, as she always wanted to help others. Her parents said she turned her grief into an opportunity for others.The fund will exist as long as there is a university. The interest alone on the $1000K endowment will fund 10 students each year.
Savita Shan Women Empowerment Award
In addition to the scholarship, the Shan family is committed to sponsoring the Savita Shan Women’s Empowerment Award through the UT Austin Indian Students Association for the next decade. The first award was presented to Pragya Vela, a student of UT Austin, on April 25, 2026.
Who was Savita Shan? ?
A native of Austin, Savita was a graduate of Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy (LASA) High School. She found out about the Taco Bell Live Mass Scholarship for four years at UT and got it on her own. After her graduation, she wanted to start her career with a position at Visa. An avid traveler, Savita had a goal to visit 21 countries by the age of 21 and ended up visiting 26 countries and 36 US states. Her parents remember her as a happy child who touched so many people’s lives that they did not expect the community’s reaction after her death.On the evening of February 28, 2026, Savita coordinated guest transportation and accommodations for the Ras Rodeo dance event, which she helped organize. After seeing off each guest safely, she texted her mother: “Leaving now.” She never came home. On March 1, 2026, Savita lost her life in a mass shooting on 6th Street in downtown Austin – an incident linked to terrorism.
Savita’s parents awarded her double degrees posthumously
On May 7, 2026, Savita’s parents received her dual degrees, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the College of Liberal Arts and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from the McCombs School of Business.