Women of A&M-Texarkana donates $149K
The Women for A&MTexarkana presented a total of $149,000 for scholarships and university initiatives Thursday during a holiday social at the home of Regent Judy Morgan.
A&M-Texarkana’s President Dr. Emily Cutrer told those gathered just how important their contributions were in the lives of current and potential students.
“What you all do in raising funds for our students…for scholarships for facilities and activities makes all the difference in the world in our being able to serve the students and our being able to serve our community,” she said. “We’ve had increasing applications over the years, but actually getting our students here…depends upon our ability to serve them with the scholarship dollars that they need because it’s expensive to go to college and our students often don’t have the resources from their families to do it alone.”
Funds will be used as follows: $39,000 toward the Presidential Scholarship program for the remainder of the 2015-16 year and $75,000 for 2016-17; $10,000 for the Women for A&M-Texarkana Scholarship Fund; $5,000 for Eagle athletic scholarships and equipment; and $20,000 toward a $100,000 pledge to the Eagle Community Center.
“We’re going to put 10 people through school this year, so we’re really excited about that,” said Michelle Shores, president of Women for A&M-Texarkana. “All of our hard work goes directly to the students. Nothing is lost and we are putting people through school.”
The donated dollars are the culmination of year-round fundraisers by the approximately 350-member group, said Regent Judy Morgan.
“Every student that walks across that stage at graduation you have had a part of, you can look at that student and be proud because you know the efforts of the Women of A&M Texarkana have provided scholarships, they’ve provided tutorial services, they’ve helped with books where you need them, with everything around campus,” Morgan said. “So we’re a part of each student’s lives that come on this campus and walk across that stage, and I think every woman here takes ownership of these students and that campus and I think that’s why it’s been so successful because they’re like our family.”
She added that each year, the university indicates areas of need, and that’s where the group places their funding.
“It goes directly back to the students and A&M,” Morgan said. “Right now, with the expanding growth of A&M, it’s in scholarships. That’s why 100 percent of our money this year went to scholarships.”