Arlington School & Family Magazine November/December 2015

Sam Houston High Scool TCU Community Scholars Program By Vyveca Wiley, Texans Talk Editor-in-Chief Senior Michaela Farmer was taken by surprise when she received a light blue slip asking her to report to the Little Theater for an informational meeting regarding her class ranking. “It was really a shock to be there because I knew I had good grades, but I didn’t know that they were good enough to get me in the top 15 percent,” Farmer said. “Overall it was just a great thing. I’m happy that I even got this opportunity.” Almost 115 Sam Houston High School senior students attended a top 15 percent meeting with Victoria Herrera, Texas Christian University’s admission adviser, Sept. 18. school record for the number of recipients in one year at Sam Houston. “The meeting overall made me excited about going to college. Mrs. Herrera was a very good presenter,” said senior Kaylee Nicosia. “She was able to answer all my questions, give information about the school and gave me a good feeling of what to expect at TCU.” TCU has been in partnership with Sam Houston High School for almost nine years and has been choosing scholars from the school each year since. Sam Houston is one of the 11 area schools that participate in the TCU Community Scholars Program. Counselor Cynthia Carter advises the students to apply directly through the TCU website to minimize the mailing mistakes. Carter said the motivating factor for considering TCU is the opportunity. Not only is it a full ride scholarship, but students have the opportunity to go to a prestigious university that offers them support while there. “They are worthy of everything that comes with the scholarship,” Carter said. † The meeting focused on the TCU Community Scholars Program that offers students a full scholarship worth $250,000. The students were instructed on how to apply, including which documents to include in the application. “I plan on studying kinesiology and actually want to work for a major league, so this is a blessing to have this chance. A full ride is less stress on everyone,” senior Jakoby Barlow said. Of the many who applied, only 40 scholarships were awarded across the DFW area last year. Eight of those scholarships went to Sam Houston seniors for a combined $1.75 million in scholarship funds last year. This set a new PHOTO CAPTION: Chinedu Akpom, My Thuy Diem Nguyen, Oluwatimilehin Ijabiken, Sam Luke, Edwin Tachiri, Nga Thanh Thi Tran, and Michael Tran all received the scholarship that will ﬁnance four years of undergraduate studies, a combined $1.75 million last year. November/December 2015 - Arlington School & Family 17

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