There are no easy solutions to the healthcare worker shortage facing our state, but helping more students on the path to becoming doctors, nurses, and other essential health professionals is an important place to start. To support the growth of the health workforce, St. David’s Foundation has awarded 45 scholarships to Central Texas students who are beginning their journey toward a vocation in the medical arts. These are scholarships, that are awarded on the basis of both merit and need, and our new Scholars have some truly remarkable stories.
Helping to bring higher education into reach for students, many of whom are first in their families to attend college, is central to St. David’s Foundation’s mission to advance health equity through investment and action. As one of the largest scholarship programs in Texas, the Neal Kocurek Scholarship provides students from Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties with financial, personal, and professional support throughout their higher educational studies.
The scholarship program was created in honor of the Foundation’s late President and CEO, W. Neal Kocurek, Ph.D. and carries on his vision for a more equitable Central Texas. Since the scholarship’s inception, over 700 students have received scholarships to study medicine, nursing, physical therapy, biomedical engineering, and many other vital health-related disciplines.
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 then matched two-to-one by the Foundation.
Cultural competence is just one aspect of quality care, but it matters deeply. The Foundation’s commitment to equity makes it even more important for these emerging professionals to be from the communities they seek to serve, and the backgrounds of this year’s scholarship recipients are extraordinarily diverse.
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 2023 recipient of the Alfred A. King Chairman’s Award is Yair Lopez, a graduate of Lehman High School in Kyle, Texas, who will be a first-year student at Texas State University this fall.
Yair’s journey is remarkable and demonstrates profound resilience. Supporting himself while pursuing his education, he rose to the top 15% of his class while also learning English as a second language. Yair plans to major in biochemistry and hopes to attend medical school. “My dream career is to become an emergency doctor because, throughout my life, I have lost family members who would still be alive today if they received treatments in time,” Yair said. “I know the major and the path I chose will probably be difficult, but I love science and I know I can do it. I always challenge myself to reach for great and impossible goals, and I always work hard to make them come true.”
Yair is just one of our many impressive scholars, all of whom bring their 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. And as we look again, mark your calendar: the application process for the 2024 scholarship will open in early November.
We are extremely proud of all of our 2023 Kocurek Scholars and look forward to cheering on their future success with great pride. Please join me in congratulating these exceptional students.
2023 Class of Neal Kocurek Scholars
Abrar Alsaadi
The University of Texas at Austin
Emily Araujo
The University of Texas at Austin
Alexa Baker
The University of Texas at Austin
Rance Blancaflor
Texas A & M University-College Station
Caitlin Brock
The University of Texas at Austin
Roselin Campos
Texas State University
Priyadarshini Chandrani
Texas A & M University-College Station
Hannah Choi
The University of Texas at Austin
Daya Contreras
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Diya Deepak
The University of Texas at Austin
Abbigail Delacruz
My Do
The University of Texas at Austin
Amanda Dyson
The University of Texas at Austin
Zarqa Fatima
The University of Texas at Austin
Neuryth Garcia-Lopez
Austin Community College District
Sucharitha Gotham
The University of Texas at Austin
Ava Harper
Southwestern University
Mary Hoang
The University of Texas at Austin
Nicole Huffmaster
Texas A & M University-College Station
Sara Hutson
The University of Texas at Austin
Kimberly Huynh
The University of Texas at Austin
Melissa Ingabire
University of Houston
Rachel Jenkins
Texas A & M University-College Station
Hayden Kohl
Texas A & M University-College Station
Cybel Lekettey Dapilma
University of Texas at Dallas
Yair Lopez
Texas State University
Lorena Montoya-Conejo
Texas State University
Aileen Moreno
Texas A & M University-College Station
Malachi Natal
The University of Texas at Austin
Lisset Osorio Garcia
Texas State University
Celeste Pesina
The University of Texas at Austin
Julianna Pham
The University of Texas at Austin
Nhan Pham
Texas A & M University-College Station
Tien Pham
The University of Texas at Austin
Hannah Ramos
Texas State University
Norma Rodriguez Tovar
Texas A & M University-College Station
Grace Ann Roth
Texas A & M University-College Station
Alison Seaback
Baylor University
Ariana Suyo
Texas State University
Bibi Wahida Taniwal
The University of Texas at Austin
Abigail Toghanro
Texas Woman’s University
Trevor Tran
The University of Texas at Austin
Elizabeth Yoo
The University of Texas at Austin
Mia Zavala
Texas Tech University