Terry Scholars gather to network, connect at annual event

Student Achievements

Sandy Pantlik | October 10, 2018

Since 2004, Texas State University has welcomed 329 Terry Scholars to campus, representing a scholarship commitment from the Texas-based Terry Foundation of $17.3 million.

Current students, alumni, mentors and representatives from the Terry Foundation gathered for an annual banquet in the LBJ Student Center on Tuesday, October 9 to celebrate the opportunities and connections the prestigious scholarship has brought to their lives.  

“At Texas State, our Terry Scholars are among the best and brightest,” said Gene Bourgeois, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Not only do our Terry alumni shine in their careers and communities, but our 89 current scholars engage in community services, conduct innovative research, and are role models for their peers. We are grateful to the Terry Foundation for its generous investment in our students and state.” 

This fall, Texas State welcomed 20 new Terry Scholars to campus: 13 freshmen and seven transfer students. 

The Terry Foundation’s mission is to strengthen the state of Texas by helping Texas students, particularly those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, attend the state’s public universities and graduate debt-free. The transfer-student scholars contribute to the Terry Scholars Program by serving as mentors whose experiences offer different perspectives for the traditional scholars.

Terry scholarships cover a broad range of student expenses over four years of study, including tuition and fees, housing, books and living expenses.

The Terry Foundation, founded in 1986, is based in Houston. Scholarships are awarded at 13 Texas public universities.

Current Terry Scholar Highlights:

• Second-year traditional scholar and Communication Disorders major, Anna Stewart, is researching how speech-language pathologists can use technology to help people with autism communicate. 
• Senior traditional scholar and Exercise and Sports Science major, Sarah Ayala, is a Lead PACE Peer Mentor.
• Transfer scholar and MBA student, Jessica Ramos-Karmaker, is a mother of two, serves on Student Government’s Graduate House of Representatives, and is currently vice president of the McCoy Graduate Student Association.
• Second-year traditional scholar and biology major, Angel Sandoval, was accepted to the Hispanic Serving Institution-STEM Impact’s SURE Program for summer 2018 and participated in the 10-week research intensive. 

Terry Scholar Alumni Highlights:

•  Tiffany Rodriguez, (B.S. ’18) a Nutrition and Foods major, began her master’s in Public Health- Global Health & Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Medicine.
• Tara Pohlmeyer, 2016 Mass Communication-Electronic Media graduate, is a communications associate at a nonprofit specializing in media and digital outreach to impact state policies.
• Samantha Foss, (B.S. ’17), is a social worker addressing family violence in North Carolina by implementing a victim support program that will be the first of its kind in the nation.