“I always knew that college held the key to my success in the future. Despite a turbulent senior year in high school, I somehow managed to bounce back from failing grades and a challenging medical diagnosis. It is an honor to receive a scholarship and although I am excited and nervous, I plan to excel,” said Steven Trevino, an NVC student in his second semester.
He plans to obtain an associate’s degree in Business Administration, then transfer to the University of Texas at San Antonio to complete a bachelor’s degree in finance. He hopes to pursue a career in state government finance or as a Texas game warden.
During the Scholarship Recognition Breakfast held recently held at Northwest Vista College, he shared the impact and importance of scholarships in enabling him to focus on being successful in his studies and the positive experiences he had at NVC. He received the GM Financial Next Level Scholarship.
Amy Senger graduated from NVC in the fall and is now attending Texas A & M San Antonio. She received the Mexican American Studies Scholarship. She credits a MAS class for helping her to understand her own heritage and increased her understanding of how heritage can have an impact on each individual.
Nathan Avalos is an NVC student studying Business Administration. After completing work on his associate’s degree, he plans to transfer to a university within Texas to earn a bachelor’s degree. He says that while growing up, his parents always pushed him to get good grades and do well in his academic studies.
He received the CPS Energy/ Dr. Homer Guevara Jr. Endowed Scholarship for Business, Economics and Government Majors. The impact of scholarships, he says, is to create less stress which in turn results in being able to focus more on education. He added that his parents are very proud of him and so glad to see that he is setting an example for his younger sister.
Paula Gold-Williams, president and CEO of CPS Energy, talked about her decision to go to college and her father’s influence on her selection of what to study.
“I wanted to get a degree in accounting but he talked me into getting an associate’s degree in fine arts,” she said.
She attended San Antonio College and says that’s one of the reasons she supports community colleges. She feels strongly that companies need to give back to their communities and has championed the company’s support of scholarships including the Inspire U Scholarship and the endowed scholarship started by Dr. Guevara.
Other scholarship donors attending the breakfast included Winston Padgett, NVC; Robert Marbut, NVC; Rosantina Aranda, Frost Bank; Shelah Simmons, Genesis Professional Solutions and NVC Business Council Chair; Daniel Johnson, NVC; Byron and Keiko Adcock; Ron Keller; Carolyn Sartori and Sabrina G. Hodges, GM Financial; Christine Crowley; Norma Maldonado, GED Empowerment; Dr. Homer Guevara, Jr., NVC; Raul Hinojosa, LULAC Rey Feo Scholarship; and Brad and Fatima Ward.
The event featured a Fiesta theme and a presentation by NVC President Dr. Ric Baser on the success of the college and its students and the need for scholarships. The Scholarship Recognition Breakfast is an annual event of the Community Development Department to recognize donors who support NVC scholarships and scholarship students. To date in this academic year, 311 NVC students have received more than $259,890 in scholarships through the Alamo Colleges Foundation.
Contributed by Lynne T. Dean, NVC Director of Institutional Advancement
