Tarleton State University’s Week of Service not only gives students a chance to participate in fulfilling activities for the betterment of the university, it also helps to bring much needed attention to various programs at Tarleton. The impact of the second annual Day of Giving has already made itself known on campus with the establishment of various new scholarships and other measures meant to support students.

One of the most notable new scholarships created at Tarleton on April 4, was the Student Success Collaborative’s scholarship for engineering and engineering technology students. SSC made a very generous $30,000 donation in support of establishing two $2,500 scholarships per year for five years. One of these will go to an engineering student and the other will go to an engineering technology student every year.

According to Janice Horak, the Assistant Vice President of Development at Tarleton, SSC was particularly interested in supporting students in the engineering fields because leadership positions are available within their corporations in those areas. Horak explained that Ty Minkler, the Vice President for Finance and Administration, spoke with SSC about participating in the Day of Giving this year. The West Region Vice President of SSC, John Lane, responded that they would love to contribute to the university by offering a scholarship.

Horak pointed out that “Mr. Lane stated that he had received a scholarship as a community college student in Arizona. It allowed him to dream and aspire to continue on to receive his four-year degree.”

Denise Martinez, the Department Head of Engineering and Computer Science at Tarleton, asserted that “students often have to work in order to finance all or part of their education and/or living expenses. That necessity takes time away from the time they have to devote to their schoolwork. Scholarships are so valuable to our students because they take some of that pressure off and often makes the difference that allows students to be successful.”

Scholarships also benefit university programs in very potent ways.

“When programs have nice scholarships or many scholarships,” Horak explained, “it helps the programs grow because it attracts students to those fields of study.”

Having more students in a program also makes the program inherently more competitive, and therefore a
very valuable learning environment for students. This new scholarship will undoubtedly transform the experience of many future and current engineering and engineering technology students at Tarleton due to these benefits.

Participating events like the Day of Giving is an important step in establishing more scholarship opportunities similar to this in a variety of programs. The Day of Giving allows individuals to donate to specific areas that matter to them. It also illuminates various program needs, and educates people on the plethora of opportunities that Tarleton has to offer its students.