The Student Engineers’ Council (SEC) at Texas A&M University is creating five new scholarship opportunities, three of which are in conjunction with private donors. “We’re here to serve,” said Reed Hampton, the 2018-19 SEC president. “By endowing scholarships we can impact the lives of students at Texas A&M in perpetuity.”
Previously, the SEC donated the first million dollars to the construction of the new Zachry building, sparking a giving campaign that led to the Zachry Engineering Education Complex opening in 2018. When the council’s executive board started last April, they were inspired to give back to students in a way that could impact the lives of individuals. Their funding comes from companies who pay to be a part of the career fair, corporate donations and decades of fiscally conservative financial planning.
The first two endowed scholarships are the Student Engineers’ Council Dean’s Scholar Award and the Student Engineers’ Council Ambassador of Engineering Scholarship. The former will be a scholarship made in conjunction with the Dean’s Scholars Program, rewarding one outstanding incoming freshman engineering student every year with a scholarship. The latter rewards students who represent what the College of Engineering stands for outside of the classroom.
The SEC has provided the principal investment for the next three scholarships with the hope that another donor will match the principal investment to capitalize on the amount of scholarship disbursements to students. The matching investment could come from one private donor or multiple donors. The SEC has contributed $100,000 in matching funds for the Student Engineers’ Council Endowed Fellowship, and $50,000 in matching funds respectively for the Student Engineers’ Council Impact Scholarship and Student Engineers’ Council Delta Scholarship.
The Student Engineers’ Council Endowed Fellowship will reward graduate students who are continuing their education at Texas A&M.
The Student Engineers’ Council Impact Scholarship identifies and rewards students who have made a positive impact on the College of Engineering through their work in academics or philanthropic pursuits.
Finally, the Student Engineers Council Delta Scholarship acknowledges that sometimes failure really is the best teacher and rewards students for significant improvement in their pursuit of professional engineering, a story that resonates with Hampton and his journey toward a computer science degree. The scholarship is unique in that it identifies the rate of change, or the growth of a student, as the criteria for selection instead of merely evaluating their grades at that point in time.
“None of these scholarships would be possible without the hard work and dedication of hundreds of SEC members over many years and for that we are extremely grateful,” said Hampton.
Aggies have created a network that is world renowned for helping each other. We give back to each other. That’s what makes us Aggies.
Creating a legacy of giving back
From 3D printers to nuclear reactors, engineers have designed the modern world. Investing in Texas A&M engineering students is an investment in the next generation of innovators.
On an individual level, an engineering degree not only leads to excellent career prospects, but it also has a lifelong personal impact. “Pursuing an engineering education will challenge you every day and make you realize new things about yourself,” said Hampton.
The group hopes the direct, annual impact of the scholarships will inspire future SEC members and former students to continue to invest in students and pursue new avenues of giving back. “Aggies have created a network that is world renowned for helping each other,” said Venesky. “We give back to each other. That’s what makes us Aggies.”