TOWER FELLOW JOURNEY
A Conversation with Tower Fellow Alumna Alice Viroslav
Alice Viroslav, M.D. is a neuroradiologist in private practice from San Antonio, Texas. Alice has been recognized for her nonprofit work in San Antonio, and she is the co-founder of the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research. Alice and her husband Sergio have three grown children, Hannah, Andie, and Evan.
Q: What drew you to the Tower Fellows Program?
A: Well, I was really burned out at work, and I'd been trying to figure out how to deal with that. Did I want to keep working? Did I want to do something else? I wasn't sure.
I was on a plane reading The Atlantic and I found an article by David Brooks called “The New Old Age.” It was about these programs that he called “encore programs” at Stanford and Harvard. I read it, and I said, “This is exactly what I've been looking for, but I can't move to California. I can't move to Boston. Too bad the University of Texas doesn't do something like this.”
And then I went online, and lo and behold, I found Tower Fellows, and I went home and emailed them that day.
A: Well, I was really burned out at work, and I'd been trying to figure out how to deal with that. Did I want to keep working? Did I want to do something else? I wasn't sure.
I was on a plane reading The Atlantic and I found an article by David Brooks called “The New Old Age.” It was about these programs that he called “encore programs” at Stanford and Harvard. I read it, and I said, “This is exactly what I've been looking for, but I can't move to California. I can't move to Boston. Too bad the University of Texas doesn't do something like this.”
And then I went online, and lo and behold, I found Tower Fellows, and I went home and emailed them that day.
What were you looking to get out of the program?
I wasn't 100% sure whether this was going to be a sabbatical for me or whether it was going to be a career change for me. I do a lot of nonprofit work, and I was thinking maybe at this point in my life, I would shift to be a nonprofit professional or do something different in that space than I was doing before. So I definitely wanted to explore that.
I wasn't 100% sure whether this was going to be a sabbatical for me or whether it was going to be a career change for me. I do a lot of nonprofit work, and I was thinking maybe at this point in my life, I would shift to be a nonprofit professional or do something different in that space than I was doing before. So I definitely wanted to explore that.
I also love the arts. I love music; I love film; I love television, love popular culture. And when I was pre-med, I didn't take any of that stuff. My entire curriculum was biology, psychology, and chemistry, and I really wanted to have the opportunity to take classes that I didn't get to take when I was an undergraduate, not related to what I do professionally, but in things that I love.
So it was kind of a hybrid for me. I wanted to explore whether I wanted to pursue a different career path and I also just wanted to take things that I loved and be in the classroom again and learn.
So it was kind of a hybrid for me. I wanted to explore whether I wanted to pursue a different career path and I also just wanted to take things that I loved and be in the classroom again and learn.
Alice and UT Athletic Director Chris Del Conte
How did you choose your classes?
First of all, U.T. is a wealth of riches. I got the course catalog, and I was like, “I could take every single one of these classes,” which makes it hard to pick. How do you narrow it down to five classes a semester when there's 50 classes you want to take?
I took a step back and I said, “Okay, I love music. I definitely want to take a music course. I love nonprofit work. I want to do something in that area. I love politics, so I want to look into courses at the LBJ School.” Then I started narrowing it down based on the schedule I wanted. When did I want to take classes? When did I want to be here on campus? I still, to this day, come back and I hear lectures, and I think, “how did I miss that person's class?” There are so many amazing classes, but you can't take everything, so that was how I tried to approach it.
First of all, U.T. is a wealth of riches. I got the course catalog, and I was like, “I could take every single one of these classes,” which makes it hard to pick. How do you narrow it down to five classes a semester when there's 50 classes you want to take?
I took a step back and I said, “Okay, I love music. I definitely want to take a music course. I love nonprofit work. I want to do something in that area. I love politics, so I want to look into courses at the LBJ School.” Then I started narrowing it down based on the schedule I wanted. When did I want to take classes? When did I want to be here on campus? I still, to this day, come back and I hear lectures, and I think, “how did I miss that person's class?” There are so many amazing classes, but you can't take everything, so that was how I tried to approach it.
Tower Fellows Program Cohort Fall 2024
What was your favorite part of the program?
My favorite part of the program was definitely the other people in the program. We had an amazing group - people from Texas, California, and Singapore. All of us are from different backgrounds. All of us are here for different reasons, and we really hit it off. We're great friends.
In fact, as we're talking right now, I'm back at the University of Texas because my cohort wanted to come back and be together again, so we all took a week off, and we all came back to Austin. The staff of the program is also amazing. My connections with those people will be lifelong connections.
My favorite part of the program was definitely the other people in the program. We had an amazing group - people from Texas, California, and Singapore. All of us are from different backgrounds. All of us are here for different reasons, and we really hit it off. We're great friends.
In fact, as we're talking right now, I'm back at the University of Texas because my cohort wanted to come back and be together again, so we all took a week off, and we all came back to Austin. The staff of the program is also amazing. My connections with those people will be lifelong connections.
How did your perspective change during the Tower Fellows Program?
When I came into the program, I thought I might be looking at a career change. When people asked me, “Why are you doing this?” I said, “Well, maybe I'll retire in a year. I'll be doing something different. I'm going to find out.”
What it ended up being was not just a sabbatical, but also an affirmation of some of the things that I was doing. I figured out that I still like being a doctor. I'm not ready to stop doing that. I figured out that in the nonprofit space, I'm pretty effective as a lay leader. I have tremendous respect for non-profit professionals, and the program gave me a clear understanding that I'm a better lay leader than I would be a professional.
The other cool thing is that it was a refresher on what I really love, which is the arts. It gave me courage to pursue some things in that area that I might not have done if I hadn't done the program, and that's been great.
When I came into the program, I thought I might be looking at a career change. When people asked me, “Why are you doing this?” I said, “Well, maybe I'll retire in a year. I'll be doing something different. I'm going to find out.”
What it ended up being was not just a sabbatical, but also an affirmation of some of the things that I was doing. I figured out that I still like being a doctor. I'm not ready to stop doing that. I figured out that in the nonprofit space, I'm pretty effective as a lay leader. I have tremendous respect for non-profit professionals, and the program gave me a clear understanding that I'm a better lay leader than I would be a professional.
The other cool thing is that it was a refresher on what I really love, which is the arts. It gave me courage to pursue some things in that area that I might not have done if I hadn't done the program, and that's been great.
What did you get to pursue?
I love radio, TV and film. I wanted to learn more about how that industry works. So I took a class called “Business of Hollywood,” which is all about the economics of the media industry. I took “Screenwriting,” not because I want to write a script, but because I wanted to see how scripts are written. I took “Producing TV and Film” to see how media products are made.
I love radio, TV and film. I wanted to learn more about how that industry works. So I took a class called “Business of Hollywood,” which is all about the economics of the media industry. I took “Screenwriting,” not because I want to write a script, but because I wanted to see how scripts are written. I took “Producing TV and Film” to see how media products are made.
Then I got the opportunity to invest in a film as a producer. It's a friend of mine who lives here in Austin. His name is Temple Baker, and he directed and wrote a film called Deep Eddy, which is based in Austin. It's an indie film. Richard Linklater is the executive producer, which is fun.
I got to go on set for a day, and I just loved it. I was talking with my friend Kate, who's a producer on set, and I said “This is a blast. I really love this, and maybe in another life I would have done this.” And she said, “Or in this life,” and I said, yeah, I can do it in this life too.
That's a perspective I think I didn't have before I started Tower Fellows. I don't have to limit myself. If I really love something, I can just go do it.
I got to go on set for a day, and I just loved it. I was talking with my friend Kate, who's a producer on set, and I said “This is a blast. I really love this, and maybe in another life I would have done this.” And she said, “Or in this life,” and I said, yeah, I can do it in this life too.
That's a perspective I think I didn't have before I started Tower Fellows. I don't have to limit myself. If I really love something, I can just go do it.
What advice do you have for people who are considering the program?
The biggest thing I was worried about when I started class was, what do I wear? It was very funny. I was really concerned about what I should wear.
I was worried because I hadn't been in a classroom in a long time. I hadn't written a paper; I hadn't taken a test, and I thought, can I still do that? It was great figuring out that I could still learn. I literally felt like my brain expanded. I loved meeting the students. I loved being part of the classes. I took undergraduate classes, graduate classes. I took classes that had 15 people in them. I took classes that had 200 people in them. And they were all awesome. I had a very different attitude about classes than I did when I was a college student. I did all the reading; I paid attention; I took notes.
The biggest thing I was worried about when I started class was, what do I wear? It was very funny. I was really concerned about what I should wear.
I was worried because I hadn't been in a classroom in a long time. I hadn't written a paper; I hadn't taken a test, and I thought, can I still do that? It was great figuring out that I could still learn. I literally felt like my brain expanded. I loved meeting the students. I loved being part of the classes. I took undergraduate classes, graduate classes. I took classes that had 15 people in them. I took classes that had 200 people in them. And they were all awesome. I had a very different attitude about classes than I did when I was a college student. I did all the reading; I paid attention; I took notes.
I think if you do the program, you do need to make a commitment to be on campus. If you really want to get everything out of the program, you have to commit to it. It's not a part time thing. You have to be on campus, you need to be with your cohort, you need to go to your classes, you need to meet your professors. That's how you get everything that you can out of the Tower Fellows Program. I was glad I did that, but I do want people to understand that if you want to get everything out of it, you need to make a full commitment to it.
The only other thing I would say is that being on a college campus is amazing. You forget how great the atmosphere of being on campus is, with the Harry Ransom Center and the athletics and the Bass Concert Hall and the Moody Center and all these things that are such amazing resources that I had daily access to just walk to at any time.
The only other thing I would say is that being on a college campus is amazing. You forget how great the atmosphere of being on campus is, with the Harry Ransom Center and the athletics and the Bass Concert Hall and the Moody Center and all these things that are such amazing resources that I had daily access to just walk to at any time.
For example, we just went to an amazing exhibit at the Ransom Center. It's Lorne Michaels’ Saturday Night Live collection. It’s so great just to have that kind of stuff literally at your fingertips.
Is there anything that you would have done differently?
More semesters? If I could have, I would have done more semesters! I still think about when I have time again, at some point in my life, coming back again and taking more classes. I would love to do it again. I could easily fill up two more years of semesters with the speakers that we've heard and the things that I've read and the people that I met. I could absolutely come back and do more, and I would love to do that.
Read Alice Viroslav's Tower Fellows profile.
Is there anything that you would have done differently?
More semesters? If I could have, I would have done more semesters! I still think about when I have time again, at some point in my life, coming back again and taking more classes. I would love to do it again. I could easily fill up two more years of semesters with the speakers that we've heard and the things that I've read and the people that I met. I could absolutely come back and do more, and I would love to do that.
Read Alice Viroslav's Tower Fellows profile.