When Tim (’92, Mech. Eng.) Hargraves and Kim (’91, Busi. Admin.) Johnson arrived at Washington State University in 1987, neither could have known that WSU would change the course of their lives in more ways than one. They would earn degrees, launch successful careers, build lifelong friendships, and—perhaps most importantly—meet one another. More than three decades later, they’re ensuring future students have similar opportunities through a planned gift that will support the Honors College for generations to come.
Both Tim and Kim were first-generation college students. Cost was a major factor in choosing a university, and WSU offered a combination of affordability, academic opportunity, and community that made higher education attainable. Those early experiences shaped not only their careers, but also their understanding of the doors a college education can swing wide-open.
“We didn’t have a lot of money growing up,” Kim said. “We both needed financial aid.”
Their shared experience instilled a deep appreciation for the opportunities they found at WSU and a desire to make those experiences more accessible for current and future students.
For both, bowling helped bring them to Pullman. Growing up in Quincy, where her family owned the local bowling alley, Kim was drawn to WSU in part because of its bowling program. Tim, who grew up in Pasco, was already a competitive bowler and saw the program as an opportunity to continue pursuing the sport he loved while earning a degree. They met through the bowling team during freshman orientation, beginning a partnership that has lasted nearly four decades.
The bowling team traveled throughout the West, creating friendships that extended well beyond the lanes. Tim helped his team earn a runner-up finish at nationals—with Kim later capturing a national singles title—even bowling professionally for a time to help offset college costs. The experience taught discipline, teamwork, and persistence, lessons both would carry into their careers.
For Kim, the Honors Program proved especially influential. A fully funded, study-abroad experience in Japan broadened her perspective and helped shape her future.
“It really showed me there was a way bigger world out there,” Kim said.
That experience became a defining example of the kinds of opportunities that can alter a student’s trajectory. It also helped inspire the couple’s vision for a gift supporting both academic achievement and experiential learning.
After graduation, Tim’s path was not always straightforward. He began as a pre-med student before changing majors to mechanical engineering and, like many new graduates, faced uncertainty while launching his career. He ultimately built a professional journey spanning the energy, technology, and consulting sectors, with roles at Shell, Microsoft, and Ernst & Young before retiring in 2023.
Kim earned a degree in business administration after discovering a passion for finance. She began her career at Price Waterhouse before joining Microsoft, where she spent more than 27 years in leadership positions spanning several business units, including work connected to the company’s quantum computing initiatives.
Throughout their professional journeys, they carried with them the lessons, relationships, and confidence developed at WSU.
Today, those experiences are reflected in the Hargraves Honors Hustle Endowment, established through the couple’s Charitable Remainder Trust. The endowment will provide scholarships and experiential-learning opportunities for Honors College students, with preference given to first-generation students.
“Hustle” carries special meaning for the Hargraves. As first-generation students, neither arrived at WSU with a roadmap for success. What they did bring was a strong work ethic, gumption, and a determination to make the most of every opportunity. Tim describes hustle as a combination of hard work and entrepreneurial drive, qualities that helped shape their lives and careers. The Hargraves Honors Hustle Endowment pays tribute to that spirit, celebrating the resilience, initiative, and pluck they hope today’s students will carry into their own futures.
The gift also highlights a philanthropic tool with which many alumni and friends may not be familiar: the Charitable Remainder Trust, often called a CRT.
In simple terms, a CRT allows donors to make a charitable gift while continuing to receive income during their lifetime. Assets such as cash, appreciated securities, or real estate are transferred into a trust, which then makes payments to the donor or other beneficiaries. When the trust concludes, the remaining assets support the charitable organization(s) and priorities selected by the donor.
The Hargraves established a specific type of CRT known as a Charitable Remainder Unitrust, or CRUT. While some life income gifts pay a fixed dollar amount each year, a CRUT pays a percentage of the trust’s current value, as revalued annually. If the trust value grows, the payments can grow as well. Donors can continue adding assets over time. Ultimately, the remaining assets will support future Honors College students through the endowment.
For donors, the benefits can be significant. A Charitable Remainder Trust can provide income (for themselves or others they designate), offer tax advantages, and support philanthropic goals as part of a broader financial and estate plan. Donors and their advisors particularly like that CRTs can provide a charitable income tax deduction and avoid up-front capital gains tax, making them a very attractive choice for gifts of long-term appreciated assets like securities and real estate.
For Tim and Kim, who have raised two children and now enjoy retirement, splitting their time between Woodinville and Coeur D’Alene, the trust offered a way to align their financial planning with their values. They saw an opportunity to support WSU students while also maintaining the financial flexibility and security they wanted for themselves.
Equally important, they appreciated the guidance they received from the WSU Foundation’s Gift Planning team while exploring their options.
“If you’re thinking about giving, the WSU Foundation was excellent about helping us explore and structure a gift plan that simultaneously meets several goals for us,” Tim said.
The impact of the Hargraves’ generosity is already resonating within the Honors College.
“Tim and Kim embody the very best of what it means to be a Coug,” said M. Grant Norton, dean of the Honors College. “Their generosity will help remove barriers for students, particularly first-generation students, while creating opportunities for transformative experiences that define an Honors education. Their gift is an investment in student potential, and its impact will be felt for generations.”
For the Hargraves, however, the story is ultimately not about financial vehicles or estate-planning strategies. It’s about students.
It’s about a first-generation student receiving a scholarship that makes college possible. It’s about an Honors College student pursuing a study-abroad experience that expands their worldview. It’s about creating opportunities that inspire confidence, curiosity, and success for generations of Cougs.
To learn more about supporting WSU through a Charitable Remainder Trust, visit giftplanning.wsu.edu. To learn more about the WSU Honors College, visit honors.wsu.edu.