Jan. 19, 2005
(DALLAS) – Dallas County Community Colleges help students build a solid foundation in higher education, including Rising Star participants. Now Texas Woman’s University is building a bridge for transfer students from DCCCD to TWU through a new program, the TWU Dream Come True Scholarship, which enables successful Rising Star students to continue their education without financial barriers so that they can earn a bachelor’s degree. (Students are eligible for the Rising Star program if they graduate from a Dallas County public high school, earn a “B” average or better and demonstrate financial need.)
Representatives from both institutions – including Dr. Jesus “Jess” Carreon, chancellor of Dallas County Community Colleges, and Dr. Ann Stuart, chancellor and president of TWU – will sign a formal agreement establishing the scholarship program on Thursday, Jan. 20, at 3 p.m. The ceremony will be held on the fourth floor of the R.L. Thornton Jr. Building in Dallas, located at 701 Elm St.
Several Rising Star students will attend the signing and share their stories: Olubunmi “Bunmi” Odewole of Richland College; Trevor K. Osborne of Cedar Valley College; and Aldo Gurrusquieta of North Lake College. Mary Greely-Miller, district director of the Rising Star program, will welcome guests, and Kim Bryant, TWU’s transfer coordinator, will explain the scholarship.
“Students are our top priority, and TWU’s Dream Come True Scholarship builds on the successful Rising Star program that is privately funded through the DCCCD Foundation. As a result, our students can transfer to TWU and earn a bachelor’s degree without carrying an overwhelming financial burden. Our partnership with TWU helps us help our students,” said Carreon.
“The TWU Dream Come True Scholarship is offered to Dallas County Community Colleges Rising Star program participants in an effort to eliminate financial barriers to education,” explained Greely-Miller. “The scholarship, like our Rising Star program, promises Dallas County youth that if they graduate from high school, complete their first two years of college as participants in the Rising Star program and demonstrate financial need, then they will be guaranteed the opportunity to transfer to TWU to earn a four-year college degree.” The Dream Come True Scholarship provides up to $3,000 for tuition and other educational expenses for two years of undergraduate education at TWU.
Eligibility requirements are:
- Students who have been certified by the DCCCD Rising Star program and who are in good standing with a minimum 3.0 grade point average are eligible for the TWU Dream Come True Scholarship.
- Rising Star recipients who have completed all of DCCCD’s core requirements (the Texas Common Core) are eligible for this scholarship.
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens, be permanent residents of the United States or meet the requirements set in Texas House Bill 1403.
- Applicants must have been accepted by TWU to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
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Application requirements are:
- Applicants for the TWU Dream Come True Scholarship must submit a completed TWU admissions application and must be accepted by TWU before their scholarship application will be considered. They also must have official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended on file with TWU.
- Applicants must submit their TWU Dream Come True Scholarship form to the Rising Star coordinator at their DCCCD college. Applications then will be sent to the district’s Rising Star director to verify eligibility; all eligible applications will be forwarded to TWU’s office of financial aid and scholarships.
- Applicants must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid each year that they receive this scholarship; the FAFSA must be filed and processed by the appropriate financial aid priority deadlines, using TWU’s school code.
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Rising Star students who wish to renew their scholarship at TWU the second year must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 each academic semester and be in good academic standing with the university. Recipients must enroll in and successfully complete 12 credit hours each semester; if a student does not satisfactorily complete 12 credit hours each semester while maintaining a 3.0 GPA, her or his scholarship will not be renewed. Recipients must be enrolled for consecutive fall and spring semesters to retain their scholarship eligibility; funds are not available for summer sessions. Other conditions apply as well, and students may not receive other scholarships from TWU while they attend the university on the Dream Come True Scholarship.
For more information about DCCCD’s Rising Star program, call Greely-Miller at (214) 860-2755. For details about TWU’s Dream Come True Scholarship, contact Bryant at (940) 898-3188.