Merrilee Kick made her fortune creating Buzzballz, the colorful, round, ready to drink cocktails found in all 50 states and 29 countries.
She started the company in 2010 while teaching business law, international business, marketing and computer science at Plano West Senior High. She earned her MBA at Texas Women’s University in 2009. Her graduation project was an outline of the company’s blueprint. The idea came to her while having a drink by the pool and thinking she should have something not made of glass.
Now Kick is giving TWU 30 million dollars. It’s the largest donation in the history of the university.
TWU didn’t have a college of business. This changes that. The donation covers the entrepreneurship program, creates an entrepreneur-in-residence program. endowments and a new building, which should be open in a few years.
It will be named the Merrilee Alexander Kick college of Business and Entrepreneurship or the MAK for short. Kick’s parents were both teachers. “Education is so important. I think it’s the key to success. It’s the difference between despair and hope. You have to have that freedom to do the right things and if you have education, you get a lot more choices.”