Devika Kornbacher (’98) Champions Students with STEAM Discovery Center Gift

Devika Kornbacher has had an ever-evolving career journey that began at the University of Houston, first studying engineering, then working in ministry and now practicing law. She credits UH with giving her a strong foundation and was inspired to give back to her alma mater. She contributed the naming gift of the Devika Kornbacher STEAM Discovery Center, which is located in the renovated McElhinney Hall, the College of Education’s new home.

“I really care about women and underrepresented individuals being involved in science, technology, arts and engineering, so when the STEAM Center came up as an option for naming it captured my attention because it aligns with everything that I believe in, as far as where I want society to be and what I want to contribute to the world. There are not a lot of Black females in these disciplines, so each new student represents another chance for change.”

Kornbacher wants to interact with the students and serve as inspiration by sharing her own story of success.

“I hope they look to me, not to self-aggrandize, but to be able to give hope that just like this girl from Baton Rouge, LA, who found her way to the University of Houston, they can also achieve whatever they put their mind to.”

Kornbacher’s path to career success wasn’t a straight line.

A rendering of the new Centennial Plaza with the new McElhinney Hall, which will house the Devika Kornbacher STEAM Discovery Hall

In high school, she wanted to try acting or marketing but was persuaded by teachers to use her strong STEAM skills. She decided to be an engineer, not really knowing much about the discipline and eventually found her niche in structural engineering, focusing on hydrology and building design. She joined the UH co-op program and served an internship with the architectural firm Pierce, Goodman, Alexander and Linville.

“I actually designed my very first parking lot that is still out there at Greenspoint,” she noted. “I’m very grateful to the University for how practical my education was,” she said. From receiving scholarships to mentorship and guidance when she joined the Honors College to working closely with faculty who mentored and encouraged her, Kornbacher feels that UH is a unique school that deserves to be supported.

After graduation, Kornbacher felt called to help and joined ministry; she spent almost three years leading a youth, college students and a singles ministry in Houston. Family needs called her back into the corporate world, where she returned to structural engineering and designed offshore platforms for over two years.

The challenges she faced in engineering and the many questions about procedures led her to consider another option — once again, one that would help others.

“I had an encounter with a lawyer after my mom passed, who had quick answers to several matters that were causing me great stress (including my mom's medical bills). After that encounter, I realized that if I went to law school, I could do the same for others: give people answers when they need them most,” Kornbacher said. So off she went to Harvard for a law degree. She’s now settled back in Houston as a technology lawyer, co-chairing Clifford Chance’s Global Tech Group and managing the firm’s Houston office.

“I work with things like software, AI, patents, trademarks and copyrights,” she said. “I still use my degree today, but it was definitely an all-over-the-place journey to get to this point.”

“I took a number of courses where those experiences were so formative for me and still stay with me even through the circuitous path that I traveled,” she said. “I always wanted to give back to the University but felt like I couldn’t volunteer because I didn’t have the time. Then I learned about scholarships that weren’t prohibitively expensive. It was something I could do with what God had given me as far as being a lawyer now and a partner at a law firm. So I decided to give scholarships in the College of Education to honor my mom and my father, who also loved education and art.”

Kornbacher created two scholarships in her family’s honor: the Edward Harold Kornbacher Endowed Scholarship and the M. D. J. Kornbacher Endowed Scholarship.

“One of my big beliefs about diversity is that the only way we can achieve equity and inclusion. The only way we can achieve any of our goals is through more exposure to each other, more exposure to different cultures, and the University of Houston provides that,” Kornbacher points out. “Houston is the most diverse city in America. That means that when you are educated in Houston, you not only get the substantive education of a Tier 1 university, you also get the life education of being around thousands of people who are not just like you.

“I feel it gives you more exposure to different cultures than any other university that I have heard of. I want the University to continue to elevate, to become Top 50, to have more exposure so that more people can have the benefit of what it means to be educated in Houston at this university.”

Kornbacher’s commitment to giving back to the University of Houston through the Devika Kornbacher STEAM Discovery Center underscores her dedication to encouraging more students to pursue STEAM fields. Her story is a testament to the transformative power of education and the importance of supporting institutions that nurture future leaders.