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Building a Health Care Workforce, One Student at a Time

Colleagues, Collaborators, and our Central Texas Community,

To improve the health of Central Texans far into the future, St. David’s Foundation is committed to looking at the whole health system. At the heart of that system is people. Clinicians, pharmacists, surgeons, dentists, physical therapists, nurses, physicians–all health workers who invest time and effort in their communities. In turn, we invest in them, too.

To help support the health workforce of Central Texas, this year St. David’s Foundation has awarded 41 scholarships to students who are now beginning their paths toward healthcare careers—scholarships that are awarded on the basis of both merit and need.

The St. David’s Neal Kocurek Scholarship Fund is one of the largest scholarship programs in Texas, providing students from Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties with financial, personal, and professional support throughout their higher education journeys. This wraparound support is especially important as we are proud to announce that half of the 2022 scholar cohort are the first in their families to attend college.

Created in honor of the Foundation’s late President and CEO, W. Neal Kocurek, Ph.D., this scholarship program carries on his vision for a more equitable Central Texas. Since the scholarship’s inception in 2005, over 660 students have received scholarships to study medicine, nursing, physical therapy, biomedical engineering, and other health-related disciplines. The applications for the 2023 scholarship will open in early November (learn more about this opportunity here).

These scholarships would not be possible without the generous supporters of Toast of the Town, a series of distinctive events hosted in private homes and venues throughout Central Texas each spring. All the proceeds raised by these events go toward the scholarships, and that amount is matched by the Foundation.

Each year, one scholar is selected to receive our Alfred A. King Chairman’s Award, an honor given to a student who the scholarship committee believed exemplifies the highest level of educational values, community awareness, and civic stewardship. The 2022 recipient of the Alfred A. King Chairman’s Award is Caleb Williams, a graduate of San Marcos High School who is now in his first year at The University of Texas at Austin.

Caleb is majoring in psychology and looks forward to a career where he can have a meaningful impact. “With my desire to help people, I think being in a health care profession is the most important way to get involved,” he said. “People are needed because of the overwhelming cry for help of those struggling with different mental health issues.”

Caleb is just one of our many inspiring scholars, all of whom bring unique personal circumstances and dreams to our program. These new recipients now enter a distinguished community of peers who will encourage and inspire each other as they progress through their college education and beyond. We are extremely proud of all of our 2022 Kocurek Scholars and look forward to cheering on their future success. Please join me in congratulating these exceptional students.

2022 Class of Neal Kocurek Scholars

Ahmed  Alnoman

Austin HS

Danielle Altom

East View HS

Alexandra Alvarado

Manor HS

Jillian Anderson

Stony Point HS

Tomer Britva

Vandegrift HS

Isabelle Brown

Westwood HS

Lizbeth  Campos

Johnson HS

Florence Ekpenyong

Pflugerville HS

Giselle Flores

Lehman HS

Amarree Fox

Manor HS

Kylie Frensley

Johnson HS

Sriyuktha Ghanta

Round Rock HS

Kenadie Gordon

Stony Point HS

Mackenzie Hantelman

Round Rock HS

Emma Hargraves

San Marcos HS

Yanet Hernandez

Pflugerville HS

Gaia Hilliard

Garza Independence HS

Annie Kim

Westwood HS

Christina Ko

McNeil HS

Jahnelle Rae Mata

Vista Ridge HS

Sanjeev Medam

Round Rock HS

Daniela Mora

Cedar Creek HS

Alaiysha Murphy

Crockett HS

Khien Nguyen

Stony Point HS

Andre Pham

Round Rock HS

Hamzah Rasool

Liberal Arts & Science Academy

Samantha Richey

East View HS

Alexa Salgado

KIPP Austin Brave High School

Jasmin Sanchez Morales

Cedar Ridge HS

Kadence Scott

Westlake HS

Julie Thi

Connally HS

Angelina Torres

Bastrop HS

Annie Tran

Anderson HS

Yessica Ulloa-Penaloza

Juan Navarro HS

Sarah Varughese

Rouse HS

Devanshi Verma

Westwood HS

Mayan   Watson

Johnson HS

RyalJames Weldon-Carroll

Austin HS

Kathryn Wheeler

Hays HS

Caleb Williams

San Marcos HS

Justin Xia

Liberal Arts & Science Academy

Looking forward,

Edward Burger

President and CEO, St. David’s Foundation