Summer / Fall 2026 | Texas Leader

Karen Hagendorn encourages engineering students to pursue their dreams.

Karen Hagedorn is proud of her family’s Longhorn history.
Photo by Sloan Breeden

At age 13, Karen Hagedorn, B.S. ’86, dared to dream of becoming a petroleum engineer like her father and join a long family line of Longhorns that includes her great-grandfather, father, aunt, sister and cousins. With her gifts to The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering, Karen is showing her support for future generations who aspire to succeed in engineering.

Karen grew up in Houston, where her parents raised her to make education an important focus in her life. Despite attending one of the best math and science high schools in Texas, Karen was advised by her guidance counselor to take typing and stenography classes instead of AP Chemistry and Physics. Karen chose her own path, excelling in chemistry in particular. Her chemistry teacher urged her to reach for the stars.

“At a time when girls weren’t really encouraged to go into engineering, she pulled me aside and said, ‘You can compete with these guys. You ought to be doing this,’” Karen recalls.

Karen came to the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (PGE) to begin her studies at one of the highest-ranking petroleum engineering schools in the nation. Driven to succeed, Karen got involved in many extracurricular activities, which earned her accolades at UT and in various national honor societies. She did manage to make time for fun with her petroleum engineering classmates.

“One of my fondest UT memories was going country western dancing at the Country Palace on Thursday nights for quarter beer night,” she says.

Karen became a second-generation PGE graduate, getting her degree with highest honors in just three years. After earning a master’s degree and Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from Stanford University, she thrived in her career at ExxonMobil, where she worked in research, production and business analysis of commercial oil and gas recovery projects worldwide. Her career took her to all corners of the globe.

“My favorite place to live was the United Kingdom, and my favorite job with ExxonMobil was in Alaska. But my most rewarding experience was moving to Angola in Africa in 2009. The civil war had just ended in 2002. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, and it was so rewarding to watch the country rebuild and to work with the incredible people there,” she says.

Philanthropy has been an important endeavor for Karen, and she pays it forward through her support for future Longhorns. She recently created a planned gift designated for three of her existing UT endowments: the Karen D. Hagedorn Endowment; the Frank Ludwig Weisser Memorial Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Engineering, (named for her maternal great-grandfather, Frank Weisser, who graduated in 1911 with a degree in electrical engineering); and the Alton R. and Doris A. Hagedorn Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Engineering in honor of her parents for supporting her throughout her education.

“I spent nine years in college, including six at Stanford. I was fortunate to have family support, scholarships and summer jobs, and my Stanford tuition and stipend were covered through fellowships and other sources. When I graduated, I didn’t owe any money. That just doesn’t happen unless someone gives back,” she says.

In 2022, Karen retired from ExxonMobil after a 29½-year career. She moved to Austin, where she stays active and enjoys being closer to family. Since 1987, her family has had UT football tickets and now she regularly attends baseball, volleyball, women’s and men’s basketball and softball games as well. She enjoys traveling and attending symphony, ballet and other cultural events.

“I spent the first third of my life in education, a third working, and hopefully I have a third left when I can enjoy the fruits of my labor,” she says.

She makes volunteering an important part of her life and has served on the Engineering Advisory Board, the External Advisory Committee for UT PGE and the advisory board for The University of Alaska Fairbanks. She was a PGE Alumna in Residence and also was a founding member of the UT Austin Women in Engineering Program Advisory Committee, knowing how important it is to have someone encourage you to follow your dreams.

“There is always someone along the way that helps you, and now I want to be part of that for someone else’s path,” she says. “I am happy that my gifts allow others to pursue their education, because that was the most important gift my parents gave their children.”