This three-week event is also about providing scholarships to hundreds of Texas students.
Scholarships Stats Art Competition
SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AT THE HEART OF THE RODEO
As one of the largest scholarship providers in the country, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will give more than $14 million in educational funds to graduating Texas high school students this year. Recipients now receive $20,000 for a four-year undergraduate scholarship, an increase from $18,000.
Amy Moroney, executive director of educational programs and a 1999 scholarship recipient, says the rodeo staff and volunteer committee decided to increase the support after evaluating an increase in college tuition prices.
The rodeo is making an effort to increase awareness of the scholarship application process throughout the state. The staff hosted an educational training session for high school counselors and produced an online “Scholarship 101” video that gives an overview of the requirements and features past recipients who lend tips to applicants.
Moroney says the goal is to communicate that the scholarship program is no longer agriculture-based and that applicants need not be involved in showing livestock or organizations like FFA to be considered. “You don’t have to have ever set foot on rodeo grounds,” she says. “We’re trying to get that misconception out of people’s minds.”
Until the 1970s, rodeo scholarship recipients were required to attend Texas A&M University with their funds. Currently, the scholarships are used at more than 80 universities and colleges throughout Texas, and areas of study vary.
Sarah Brubaker, a 2006 recipient who grew up in Tomball, never participated in FFA or agriculture-related activities. She learned about the scholarships when she met a rodeo representative at a high school extracurricular program focusing on STEM.
Brubaker studied aerospace engineering at the University of Texas and now works at NASA, a lifelong dream. She says the provided funds allowed her to focus on her studies without needing to take a part-time job. She also was allowed to keep her scholarship while taking every other semester off to intern at NASA.
“It was amazing how supportive they were,” she says. “They wanted to help me accomplish what I needed to.”
Brubaker volunteers with the rodeo through several channels, including helping with NASA Night (this year March 17).
Scholarship alumni Dr. Leslie Easterwood gives back to the rodeo by serving as one of its veterinarians every year during the three-week run, helping exhibitors and monitoring animal health.