There are numerous scholarship programs available to students in the region of west Texas. Some are offered by community foundations and available only to students in specific areas of west Texas. Others are offered by professional organizations and limited to students pursuing degrees in certain fields of study. Other scholarships are available to west Texas students through contests or through institutions located in the region.
Professional Organization Scholarships
Several professional organizations within the region offer scholarships to students pursuing careers within specific disciplines. One is the West Texas Geographical Society, which makes scholarships of $1,500 available to geology majors who graduated from Permian Basin high schools. Another is the West Texas Speech Association, which offers the Noyce Burleson Memorial Scholarship to west Texas high school seniors planning to pursue careers related to communications. The Miriam Curry Scholarship is available from the West Texas Dietetic Association.
Contests
Some scholarships available to west Texas students are competitive. For example, the Hart-Missasi Scholarship, which provides $300 for the purchase of textbooks, is available through the West Texas Talent Search. Contestants must be high school students enrolled in at least two of the following four classes: drama, acting, music or English.
The American Collectors Association of Texas makes scholarship support of $500 available to west Texas students through its annual scholarship competition.
Community Foundations
Several regional community foundations offer scholarships to west Texas students who are residents of specific counties. For example, the Lubbock Area Foundation offers numerous programs, including the Weldon and Ruth Gibbs Scholarship and the Madeline Hegi Scholarship. The Community Foundation of Abilene awards over $100,000 in scholarships to area students each year. Another example is the El Paso Community Foundation, which offers a variety of annual scholarships to El Paso area high school students.
School Scholarships
Area colleges and universities are another great source for scholarship support in western Texas. Most institutions offer scholarships to attending students. For example, West Texas A&M University has an average of $1,200 worth of annual scholarship support to each attending student. Scholarships are awarded to incoming, continuing, transfer and graduate students at the institution. Institutional scholarships are awarded on the basis of both financial need and academic achievement, and individual departments also offer scholarships to students studying specific disciplines.
Tags: offer scholarships, Texas students, west Texas, west Texas students, high school, scholarship support
