Youth - Scholarship
Download the 2009 educational scholarship application.
Because of the generous gifts of employees, partners and donors, HoustonWorks USA is pleased to announce the funding of educational scholarships for youth living in the Gulf Coast area. Applicants must be 17 to 21 years of age to be eligible. The scholarships will assist youth with educational funding for attending local colleges, universities, apprenticeship programs and vocational training schools. The HoustonWorks USA Scholarships are not needs-based educational grants.
A leader in providing services to youth for over twenty years, HoustonWorks USA has played an integral role in preparing youth for a future in the local workforce. Through Youth Opportunity career centers, a summer jobs program, internship programs with local employers, scholarships and other innovative programs, HoustonWorks USA is committed to serving youth in the Gulf Coast area.
HoustonWorks USA Scholarship Awards
The HoustonWorks USA Scholarship Committee will consider the following factors when selecting scholarship recipients: Essay (grammar/dedication); Recommendations/Referrals; Academic achievement; Community service and leadership skills, including overall character; Focus and commitment to a field of study; Ability to overcome adversity and drive/self-motivation; Course difficulty (i.e. AP Program, etc.)
Applicants should possess a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 GPA scale. Applicants are encouraged to apply for more than one category to increase their chances of being selected. Although applicants are encouraged to apply for multiple categories, only one scholarship will be awarded to each applicant. Applicants may be asked to attend an interview at the discretion of HoustonWorks USA Scholarship Committee.
The HoustonWorks USA Scholarship Awards are categorized below:
- The first honorary scholarship will be awarded to a recipient who must major in the field of Education, or be working towards a degree in teaching. The Mary Kay Merriman Scholarship is named after Mary Kay Merriman, a champion of education and HoustonWorks USA Board Member. Mary Kay made her mark on the community as an advocate of social justice, expressed through activism in the Civil Rights and women’s movements. She served her community as a candidate for the State Board of Education and as a volunteer organizer for the school integration movement called Citizens for Good Schools. She participated on various boards and held leadership positions with the League of Women Voters, the Museum of Fine Arts Guild, the Theresians, the Museum of Natural Science, the Heritage Society of Houston and HoustonWorks USA. She was beloved by thousands of local youth as an HISD teacher, spending much of her career at Travis Elementary where she retired in 2003. In honor of Mary Kay’s dedication and commitment to Houston’s youth through education, a $2,000 Scholarship is established in her name.
- The second honorary scholarship will be awarded to a recipient enrolled in an apprenticeship or vocational training program. The T.W. Hudson Scholarship is named in honor of T.W. Hudson, the HoustonWorks USA Executive Director from 1984 to 2007. During his tenure, HoustonWorks USA inaugurated the first one-stop service delivery system in Texas, created a model program for linking job training and welfare reform and received the Youth Opportunity grant designed to serve at-risk youth. His leadership brought HoustonWorks USA numerous awards including the U.S. Department of Labor High Performance Designation, for working with teen mothers, induction into the Enterprise for program quality and continuous improvement and Service Delivery Area of the Year from the National Alliance of Business in 1992 and 1998. Mr. Hudson served on the Board of Trustees for United States Conference of Mayors Employment and Training Council and the National Workforce Association. He also served as co-chair of the U.S. Secretary of Labor’s Enterprise Council and past chair of the Policy Committee of the Texas Service Delivery Director’s Association. In honor of Mr. Hudson’s dedication to the employment and training community and to the nation’s youth, a $2,000 Scholarship is established in his name.
- The HWUSA Scholarship is established to award a son, daughter or grandchild of any employee working in a career office/facility operated by HoustonWorks USA. The HWUSA Scholarship will be $1,000.
- An unspecified number, but not less than four, General Scholarships will be awarded. The General Scholarships have no specific requirements beyond those outlined in the Application Process. An indeterminate number of General Scholarships will be provided, not to be less than four, to be valued in a range of $1,000 to $5,000.
The HoustonWorks USA Scholarships are not needs-based educational grants.
Download the 2009 educational scholarship application.