Holbrook Scholars 2019 Hookem

Holbrook Scholar recipients enjoy brunch with Terri Holbrook (bottom right) and Ed Blechschmidt (bottom left) on Saturday, September 28, 2019. Hook ‘Em!

Did you know roughly 40 million U.S. borrowers have over $1 trillion in student loans, and 70% of undergrad students graduate with some amount of debt? To help MPA students reduce their need to borrow, Terri Holbrook, MPA Senior Lecturer at Texas McCombs, and her husband, Ed Blechschmidt, started the Holbrook Scholar Program in 2014. As Terri said, “We believe it is a crisis, and in reviewing our potential philanthropic possibilities we couldn’t think of a better place to try and make a difference.”

This year, 12 students interested in tax received a scholarship ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to help cover the cost of graduate school. Scholarships are awarded to third, fourth, and fifth-year integrated and traditional MPA students with high academic merit and financial need.

Terri and Ed have committed $1 million to this scholarship over a ten-year period. Once a student applies, an independent committee of faculty and staff awards the scholarships.

Join us in celebrating the 2019-2020 recipients of the Holbrook Scholar Program!

New Awards – third-years:
Francisca Guerrero
Dohyun Jou

New Awards – fourth-years:
Emily Aguiar

New Awards – fifth-years:
Ang Ngoc Tran
Joshua Kennedy
Lauren Anderson

Continuing Awards – fifth-years:
Reagan Bass
Alyssa Suddhi
Weijun Tang
Tyler Wilridge

New Awards – traditionals:
Rachel Clarke
Andrew Hong

Congratulations, Holbrook Scholars! And thank you, Terri and Ed, for supporting these incredible students and the MPA program! “We love our Holbrook Scholars and know they will be successful in their own professional lives, eventually giving back to others,” Terri said.