Scholarships & Financial Aid is pleased to announce the establishment of the Hygeia Foundation Regents’ Scholarship Fund. This scholarship was created from a generous gift of $400,000 to the Texas A&M Foundation provided by the Hygeia Foundation to assist students in achieving their educational goals at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Recipients of this scholarship must be a first-generation student whose total family income is less than $40,000 per year. In addition, the recipient must be a graduate of a high school in the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District and be entering as a full-time, freshman undergraduate student pursuing a degree. The Hygeia Foundation’s endowment will fund four Regents’ Scholar students in perpetuity. The first recipient will be awarded for the fall 2008; one new recipient will be awarded each fall. Recipients will receive up to $5,000 per year for four years.

During their first year, recipients will live on-campus, participate in a Texas A&M Academic Success Program, and attend the Regents’ Scholars Orientation. In addition, Regents’ Scholars have an opportunity to become involved with the Regents’ Scholars Organization and to serve as a peer mentor to new Regents’ Scholars each fall.

Scholarships & Financial Aid Regional Financial Aid Advisors will work closely with the Harlingen Area Educational Foundation to promote the scholarship and the partnership between Texas A&M and the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District.

Mr. Lee Richards ’54, Trustee for the Hygeia Foundation, stated "Texas A&M has a spirit that is different from any other school. The moment you step onto campus, you can feel the friendliness." Due to Mr. Richards’ gift, first-generation students from Harlingen Consolidated ISD will have the opportunity to experience the spirit of Aggieland.

The Texas A&M Foundation’s fundraising and investment staff works with former students, corporations and other nonprofit organizations to invest in the Aggie Spirit and Mind. It does so through personal relationships built on confidence, trustworthy financial stewardship and an intelligent investment strategy. The Foundation is a privately governed, nonprofit corporation through which donors fund faculty chairs, student scholarships, capital construction, student activities and other Texas A&M University programs.

To create an endowed Regents’ Scholarship of your own, contact Carl Jaedicke ’73, assistant vice president for development, at (800) 392-3310 or c-jaedicke@tamu.edu . To learn more about the program, contact Suzanne Sealey in Scholarships & Financial Aid at (979) 845-3978 or visit scholarships.tamu.edu or financialaid.tamu.edu/regentblog.

The Spring 2008 issue of Spirit magazine includes a guest column by Regents’ Scholar Malcolm Wilson ’11.

By Suzanne Sealey