Not even a month out of school, one Dillard University alumna has already left her mark on the university with donations totaling $7,000.

Ashlee Yates, the 2008-2009 Miss Dillard University, said she always knew she wanted to give back.

“In this economy, the last thing people have on their minds is investing, but as the saying goes, ‘to whom much is given much is required,’ and so I felt it was my responsibility to give back,” Yates said.

Chosen by fellow students, Miss Dillard is the “epitome of what a student should achieve in terms of academic, professional and civic engagement,” said Marvalene Hughes, Ph.D., president of the university.

Yates said she was contacted after her selection as Miss Dillard by the Carrier Corp., which heard about her community service work and said they wanted to give a $5,000 scholarship to Dillard in her name.   Yates’s grandmother has worked for the company’s executive office for 10 years, and the company was first introduced to Yates through her. Yates said she agreed without hesitation.

At the end of her coronation ceremony in November, Yates presented the scholarship to the university’s business department to benefit first-year students.

A week and a half after graduating in May, Yates came back to campus with another unexpected gift for Dillard University, a $2,000 scholarship check, also from the Carrier Corp. as a congratulatory gift on graduating. This second scholarship is meant to benefit campus leaders, and students will be able to apply for it this fall.

“I was totally shocked that I did not know what to say,” Hughes said, noting that the administration encourages alumni to become committed to the university “in a lasting way.”

Since Hurricane Katrina, more than $41 million has been donated toward the university’s $70 million campaign.

Hughes called Walter L. Strong, the school’s executive vice president, into her office shortly after Yates presented the second donation. “I told him, I just want you to know, our message is getting through.”

Yates, who majored in international business and Spanish studies at Dillard and currently works in New Orleans at a marketing firm, said she has plans to make more donations in the future.

“I would like to establish a scholarship that can be given annually and eventually have a building constructed that is geared toward international business and foreign languages,” she said. “I believe that you should always give back to your alma mater, in any way you can.”