This fall, Micah Bennet, a recent graduate from HHS, begins his journey through college with a little help from the Texas Classroom Teachers Association.
Bennett was recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship from TCTA in recognition of his demonstration of traits of strong personal character and potential for success. Bennett who now attends Texas State University was one of 82 students across the state to receive scholarships totaling $128,500.
TCTA member and Harlingen High School counselor Patti Muniz nominated him for the scholarship.
The estate of the late Charles and Phyllis Gottlieb funds the scholarship. When establishing the scholarship criteria, TCTA honored Phyllis Gottlieb’s wishes, which were to create a program unlike most others. Rather than looking solely at transcripts and selecting only top academic performers, who often have multiple financial aid sources, TCTA chooses recipients who have faced hardships that make higher education unlikely without help.
Now in its fourth year, the TCTA Scholarship Program awards scholarships in amounts up to $5,000 per year for tuition and required fees. In 2010, the program first awarded a total of $29,500 to 17 students and has increased those numbers each year, making the total awarded by the program so far $335,000.
Scholarships must be used to pursue courses of study leading to recognized degrees at accredited two-‐ or four-‐year colleges, community colleges or career/technical schools. Recipients may apply for continued assistance based on satisfaction of specific academic criteria and availability of funds.
TCTA scholarship applications are due May 1 each year and can be submitted online at scholarship.tcta.org. To be nominated, a student must: be a high school senior and a U.S. citizen and Texas resident; demonstrate financial need; have a minimum GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale; and demonstrate the traits of strong personal character and potential for success. Nominators’ or nominees’ parents’ membership in TCTA is neither an advantage nor a disqualifier. However, teachers/counselors may not nominate their own children.
The Texas Classroom Teachers Association is a nonprofit, independent professional association serving more than 50,000 Texas educators. Founded in 1927, TCTA is based in Austin and is the only statewide teachers association that limits active-‐level membership to those directly involved in classroom teaching or teaching support, including librarians, counselors and teacher aides.
