Brown Scholars Make a Difference

In keeping with the Holy Cross dedication to serve others, St. Edward’s University offers the Brown Scholarship, a special award that requires applicants to design an in-depth service project. Students’ projects usually follow their personal interests and, if chosen, are completed over an academic year.

In addition to an interview and an extensive application detailing their ideas, students are considered based on their previous community service and their academic accomplishments. Students receive between $2,000 and $10,000, depending on the scope of their project and how many are chosen each year. This year, two Brown Scholarships have been awarded.

Knitting for the Homeless

Social Work major Haleigh Elizabeth Campbell ’14 developed a project that combines two of her passions: knitting and serving the homeless. She hosts knitting circles on and off campus to make scarves to donate to homeless shelters. “I learned to knit freshman year and loved it,” she says. “I got the idea because there’s a need for cold weather clothing, even in Texas.”

Over the span of two semesters, she hopes to collect at least 300 scarves. The community and local knitting stores are offering their support. She’s also excited about the opportunity to educate people about the causes and needs of homelessness. Her plans include encouraging participating knitters to join her in volunteering at local shelters.

Counseling Her Classmates

Samantha Akins ’13, an Organizational Leadership major, wants to share her skills as a certified financial counselor with her fellow adult undergraduate students. Motivated by her classmates’ struggles to balance school costs with living expenses, Samantha will provide financial workshops and one-on-one discussions on subjects such as managing student loans or buying a house.

“As a financial literacy specialist, I’ve met many adults who never received a practical financial education,” she says. “My Brown Scholarship project is meant to help students avoid the issues my past clients faced. Thanks to my scholarship, I can focus full-time on school and support others’ success through this service project.”

The Brown Scholarship, like many others, depends on gifts and endowments from individuals, families and corporations. In this issue of E-News for Parents, Debbie Adams, mother of Kaitlyn Adams ’14, shares her reasons for endowing a scholarship at St. Edward’s.
Read Adams’ story  »

Ensure that current and future students at St. Edward’s have opportunities to pursue their academic goals and dreams by supporting scholarships.