Roc’C ’83 and Mark Semmelbeck ’83 have established the Stephen Holditch ’69 Endowed Scholarship. This endowment will be used to provide one or more scholarships to full-time students in good standing pursuing an undergraduate degree in petroleum engineering at Texas A&M University.
When deciding where to attend college, Mark visited several schools. “My Dad graduated with degrees in engineering and geology from the University of Tulsa and recommended I think about a school with a strong science and engineering curriculum,” he said. “One of the primary selling points for A&M was that my high school sweetheart had already moved to College Station.”
The Semmelbecks established this scholarship in honor of Mark’s late professor and friend Dr. Steve Holditch. “I had Dr. Holditch for a class as a junior and really enjoyed the class and him,” Mark said. “When I decided to stay for graduate school, Dr. Holditch offered me a research grant and helped me come up with a research topic.”
“I received my Masters and Ph.D degrees studying under Dr. Holditch and I worked for 13 years for his consulting firm, S.A. Holditch and Associates,” Mark said. “Steve and his wife Ann were always opening their home to Roc'C and I during our student and employee seasons of life.”
Mark said he still has close friends from his time working for Dr. Holditch and that he owes much of his success to the time spent working for him. “He was a friend and mentor throughout my career and I worked to emulate his leadership style in the companies I started and ran later in my career.”
Additionally, the Semmelbecks wanted to support the petroleum engineering department at Texas A&M. “Texas A&M's petroleum engineering department has always been at or near the top in rankings worldwide,” Mark said. “I believe the reason for this is because the school works hard to train engineers both in the basics of how the business should work, and also teaches them how to identify ways in which it could work better.”
The Semmelbecks hope their gift will have a profound impact on its recipients. “I hope that students who benefit from this gift will find a profession they can truly be proud of and that they can make significant contributions to,” Mark said.
How to Give
The College of Engineering is one of the leading engineering programs in the United States, ranking first in undergraduate enrollment and ninth in graduate enrollment. Endowments supporting the students in the college have an immeasurable impact on their education. If you are interested in supporting the College of Engineering or would like more information on how you can give, please contact Reagan Chessher, senior director of development.