It’s not an easy task to impress a room full of C-suite executives.
But the British American Foundation of Texas achieved this last week at its Awards Ceremony.
When we ask our donors, who are CEOs, COOs, CFOs, Presidents and Directors, to introduce our scholars and present scholarship awards to these #globalleadersoftomorrow, they find themselves talking about young people who are All-State Champions, non-profit founders, coaches and tutors, club and school government Presidents, volunteers, fundraisers, interns, webmasters and Lead Quartermasters, on top of being A grade students.
The British American Foundation of Texas Class of 2019
And this is apart from mentioning that they are actively involved in organizations such as National Honors Society, Math National Honors Society, Science National Honors Society, Women in STEM, Honors College Student Organization, eNABLE, SPHEtina, Girls Engineering the Future, Association of Black Computer Scientists, Q++, All-State Band, Corps of Cadets, STEM Scholars of America, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, Health Occupations Students of America and Breakthrough Houston to name a few…..
It’s a privilege to watch our benefactors meet with the next generation of their industry, our future STEM leaders, entrepreneurs, technologists, engineers, innovators and, even more so, to be a part of enabling these fiercely intelligent and ambitious young people to finish their education and graduate.
But scholarships are not just about the academic funding.
True, they play an essential role in our students completing their studies, but the acknowledgement from industry that our students are on the path to success and the faith that we place in them by supporting them, spurs them on to work harder, to aim higher and to achieve more.
“I am very grateful for this opportunity. It means a lot to me that others are willing to invest in my education. It is my full intent to pass on this act.”
Ariana Morris – Undergraduate Award – Mathematics, Texas A&M
And we also help form a generation of compassionate, philanthropic future leaders with a “pay it forward” mindset, confident in the knowledge that they will be in a position to return the favor one day.
“This award will impact my future by helping me be the first in my family to attend college and by inspiring me to graduate and give back to my community.”
Ashley Sessums – Undergraduate Award – Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston
The “giving back” theme is not only in financial terms, but many of our scholars hope to inspire those who follow them too.
“Ultimately this award will aid me in inspiring young women to step out of their own comfort zone through the work I will do.”
Stephanie Zuniga – Undergraduate Award – Software Engineering, Texas State University
It is thanks to our benefactors that we are able to award these scholarships, that we can provide the support to allow these young people to graduate, that they are inspired, believed in and energized.
And we look forward to impressing another “tough crowd” of C-suite executives in 2020.
Photos from the BAFTX 2019 Awards Ceremony are available here.