Using income from sponsorships and admission to its off-campus bonfire, the Student Bonfire organization has awarded two scholarships to Texas A&M University students each of the past three years. Now Student Bonfire leaders have made their scholarship permanent.

The scholarship will have better exposure now that it’s awarded by the Scholarships & Financial Aid office at Texas A&M, said Nathan Coffman ’11, one of four junior “redpots,” the title for Aggies who oversee and do hands-on construction of the fall bonfire. “It will be available to more students so that we can find the most deserving Aggies,” he said.

And Jeremy Stark ’10, one of three senior redpots, said Student Bonfire also “wanted to set up an endowment to help students forever.”

The Student Bonfire Endowed Scholarship, established Aug. 31 through the Texas A&M Foundation, will be awarded to incoming freshmen with leadership capabilities demonstrated through their community service activities and references, Stark said. The one-year scholarship will be awarded to a new student each year.

We want to help Aggies cover the costs of their education, Stark said, “and we hope when they hear about Student Bonfire, they’ll want to be involved.”

Coffman, a civil engineering major, said setting up the scholarship through the Foundation was a quick, easy process. Stark encouraged others to follow suit. “The best reason to give is to offer others the same opportunity you’ve had,” he said.

The Student Bonfire Endowed Scholarship was created as part of Operation Spirit and Mind,^SM a multiyear $300 million fundraising initiative led by the Texas A&M Foundation on behalf of Texas A&M University.

The Texas A&M Foundation is a private nonprofit organization that solicits and manages investments in Texas A&M academics and student leadership programs. To learn more about giving Operation Spirit and Mind scholarships, contact Jody Ford ’99 at the Texas A&M Foundation at (800) 392-3310 or fund-a-scholarship@tamu.edu. Find the Foundation online at giving.tamu.edu.

For more information about Student Bonfire, visit www.studentbonfire.com.