Eleven high school students from the Fair Park area in Dallas are attending UTA this fall thanks in part to the State Fair of Texas’ Big Tex Scholarship Program. The students are recipients of the annual Pete Schenkel Scholarships, which are intended for students from the State Fair’s home neighborhood of Fair Park.
Overall, the students will receive approximately $192,000 in scholarships, financial aid, and grants from the State Fair and UT Arlington.
“We are so excited for the substantial resources they are receiving, especially when it involves students with bright futures who have a lot of promise,” says Michele Bobadilla, senior associate vice president of outreach and community engagement and assistant provost of Hispanic student success at UTA.
Frowsa’ Booker-Drew (’92 BA, English), vice president of community affairs for the State Fair, says she is “absolutely thrilled” at the partnership with UTA.
“It is our hope that this unprecedented partnership will pave the way for other colleges and universities to consider similar partnerships or scholarship matches with the Big Tex Scholarship Program,” says Booker-Drew.
Llasmin Arce, one of the scholarship recipients, will be the first in her family to attend college.
“I’m making all of my parents’ sacrifices worth it, all of their hard work in keeping me and my three younger brothers supported,” she says. “I want to show my younger brothers that they can do this, too—that there are not too many doors in their way.”
