Published in the Herald-Zeitung May 13, 2025
On Tuesday evening, May 6th. my wife and I attended the Scholarship Awards ceremony at the Mckenna Center in New Braunfels for the third year in a row. It was my third year as a member of the evaluating team under the superb leadership of Betty Taylor of the New Braunfels Community Foundation, which is now in its 11th year of awarding scholarships.
For the past few months some 60 evaluators have been reviewing applicants, primarily from high school seniors applying for a host of scholarships created by various businesses and organizations. One of the joys of evaluating the applicants is getting to know this group of promising, accomplished, and successful young individuals who we might otherwise never meet.
When we joined other evaluators, recipients, and their family and friends for a buffet meal before the awards ceremony began, we would find a table with recipients and their families so we could learn more about them, their goals and aspirations. Each year the atmosphere is always upbeat, joyful, and expectant, full of hope. Gathered here were those selected to receive financial help to pay for their schooling in the fall.
All these talented individuals revealed in their application how they have and continue to contribute to both the high schools they are ready to graduate from as well as how they have served the larger community through volunteer work as well as employment that would ease their financial burden in their next adventure.
Two large screens identified each winner’s name, what scholarship they received, a list of additional scholarships they had been awarded, what school they chose, as well as their major field of study. Betty Taylor, who directs candidates to each of us evaluators, asked us to stand and be recognized; then followed recognition of each scholarship recipient in turn who was applauded as they approached the stage to accept their scholarship and enjoy a photo-op.
I jotted down a sample of areas of study that awardees had chosen to pursue at a college, university, technical, or trade school: Engineering, History, Entrepreneurship, Aviation, Automotive and Repair Technology, Architecture and Planning, Social Studies and Veterinary specialties.
As an evaluator, each of us read the files distributed to us and assigned points to each category. We learned the statistics about grades, their ranking in class and what they have contributed to their school that revealed special recognition, as well as what they have been able to contribute to the larger community. How they accomplished so much while maintaining an impressive academic level of achievement, is testimony to their character.
One of the essays they are asked to write is one in which the candidate describes a situation in which they overcame adversity in their lives. Their stories contain events of loss of loved ones, illness, shyness, feelings of not being worthy; yet they persevered, most often with the help of someone who stepped up to mentor them, who saw who they were and guided them with loving support on their journey. Their resourcefulness kept them from giving up or accepting defeat. Many of them became mentors to others because they knew what a classmate or friend was suffering through. They were once in a similar trauma themselves.
The evening ended with a group photo of all the recipients. My wife and I left with that image of communal talents and gifts gathered in such solidarity with one another.
Finally, I want to acknowledge all those applicants and their families who were also deserving of recognition and assistance, whose stories and achievements were equally worthy. My hope is that they too find a source of financial support to ease their burden as they begin a new adventure in higher learning.