Area students excelling at HPU with help from Heart of Texas Scholarship Program
BROWNWOOD – February 27, 2012 – Taylor Combs, a 2011 Brownwood High School graduate and freshman at Howard Payne University, has just a few minutes to talk between her classes and duties as a pledge to the Delta Chi Rho sorority.
“I’ve been really busy,” she says with a laugh as she balances her textbooks and a cloth-covered “pledge book” she is required to carry with her at all times throughout the week of spring pledging. Over the next few days, she (and the 15 other pledges) will find time to visit with each of the sorority’s 36 members.
The 19-year-old psychology major has adjusted to the university life quite well. She is active in the Baptist Student Ministry, plays intramural volleyball, basketball and football and hopes to go on international mission trips while at HPU. But, she admits she might not be here at all if not for the Heart of Texas Scholarship.
“I knew I wanted to attend a quality, Christian university,” she says. “I looked into several, but nothing beat the scholarship I was given to attend HPU.”
The Heart of Texas Scholarship is awarded to graduates of Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, McCulloch, Mills and San Saba county high schools who meet unconditional admission requirements and enroll full-time each semester. It pays $54,000 over four years.
140 students have enrolled at HPU with the Heart of Texas Scholarship since the program began in 2009.
According to Jenny Williams, counselor at Brownwood High School and ’77 HPU graduate, that’s 140 more people who might have otherwise left the Heart of Texas area.
“For some reason, people often think they need to move away to attend college,” she says. “Several Brownwood High School students have received the scholarship. It’s quite a blessing to keep these quality students in Brownwood.”
The scholarship is made possible through the Harris Family Scholarship, the Sam and Nettie Hughes Scholarship, the Charley and Mary Swindle Scholarship and numerous other sources.
“It is a pleasure to work with our local students and to share information with them about the Heart of Texas Scholarship,” says PJ Gramling, HPU’s director of admission.
Says Taylor, “I love HPU, and the scholarship was the main reason I came. And I got it just for living in Brownwood.”
For more information about this and other university scholarships, contact Gramling at (325) 649-8406 or via e-mail pgramling@hputx.edu. To learn more about HPU, visit www.hputx.edu and follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/hputx) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/hputx).
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Photo caption: Taylor Combs chats with a friend on the HPU campus. Taylor is a 2011 recipient of the Heart of Texas Scholarship.