Arlington high school proves it’s smarter by the dozen with full-ride TCU scholarships
Like many, they haven’t been able to do much traveling lately because of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, for a dozen students from Arlington Sam Houston High School, traveling is only part of their college plans as they were recently named TCU Community Scholars.
The prestigious program recruits top seniors to attend TCU from urban, high minority public high schools and offers more than $6 million in scholarships each year. Each recipient will each get a full-ride scholarship to TCU valued at $260,000, which includes room, board, tuition, books — and a semester to study abroad.
The 2020 TCU Community Scholars from Sam Houston are Joshua Anderson, Sharon Arthur, Kymvely Calderon, Nichole Fashakin, Rigoberto Garcia, Pamela Guerrero, Megan Ha, Kenia Martinez, Maria Mendoza, Anderson Nguyen, Brandon Nguyen and Georgina Perez.
And while Sam Houston consistently reports having the most Community Scholars from a campus, this year is the most for the school.
“Getting the news during all of this chaos was definitely a big boost for my morale,” Guerrero said.
For a while it seemed as though they and their classmates might not have an in-person graduation, thanks to COVID-19. And though they will now have one at AT&T Stadium on June 7 at 8 p.m., this has been anything but an ordinary spring for seniors at all schools.
And none were together on campus to celebrate the good news together as schools shut down once the pandemic broke out. But that didn’t keep them from celebrating, each in their own way.
“I ran to the room where my mom was and started breaking down. She started crying with me,” Fashakin said.
“With COVID-19 happening right now and senior year ending in an unpredictable way, I am grateful for this scholarship and knowing I have something to look forward to in the fall,” Georgina Perez said.
“I started screaming after I read the first five words,” said Brandon Nguyen, whose brother, Anderson, is also a TCU Community Scholar. “It was so surreal to me. My heart was pumping, and I was shivering.”
Each student said the news gave them great relief about their college future, one without massive student debt.
“As for my family, it takes the pressure off their shoulders of how are we going to pay for college?” Mendoza said, adding that she and her parents are also proud that she will be representing the Hispanic community at TCU. “They told me I represented all the Hispanics who believed they couldn’t get an education. That makes me really proud of who I am.”
Martinez, also a first-generation college student, also said the scholarship removes a financial burden from her family. To celebrate, she danced and even screamed out loud at the culmination of a “rough” few years working to accomplish a full ride.
“I started screaming, dancing, jumping. I was just going crazy, I was so, so, so happy,” she said. “Going to TCU, I know there’s people who do truly care about me and my education and who will be there available to guide me through this journey.”
The students also said they are proud to be role models for the next generation of TCU Community Scholars from Sam Houston.
“It gives hope to my younger siblings that they can go to college and be successful,” Garcia said.