May 29, 2003

KERRVILLE— Twelve high school graduates from the Hill Country have been chosen to receive full scholarships from The Cailloux Foundation of Kerrville, TX. The Foundation established The Cailloux Foundation Scholarship Program to benefit graduating seniors from selected Hill Country high schools in 2000.

The 2003 recipients have been chosen from high schools in Bandera, Center Point, Comfort, Fredericksburg, Harper, Junction, Kerrville, Leakey, Medina, and Rocksprings. The awards are up to $10,000 per recipient annually and are for undergraduate study only. The scholarships are renewable for up to four years for a maximum multi-year award of $40,000 per student. The program will now have 45 students including freshmen through seniors participating as scholarship recipients. The students attend public universities in the State of Texas.

The scholarship recipients are Brad Daigneault and Jennifer Griffin of Bandera, Athena Fiedler of Center Point, Kevin Hannay of Comfort, Mindy Klein and Heidi Pressler of Fredericksburg, Jessica Burrus of Harper, Katherine Neisemier of Junction, Ryan Koska of Kerrville, Ashlie Manglberger of Leakey, Candice Moczygemba of Medina, and Kelcey Cottle of Rocksprings.

A limited number of applications were made available to each eligible Hill Country high school for distribution among students selected by local scholarship committees. The applicants met or exceeded a minimum Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score requirement of 1017, which is just under the current national average of 1020. They also have a minimum grade average of 85 and are in the top one-third of their class. 

Final selection of recipients for the scholarship awards was made by Scholarship Management Services (SMS), a division of Citizens Scholarship Foundation of America in St. Peter, MN. SMS utilized standard comprehensive recipient selection procedures including the consideration of past academic performance and future potential, statement of career goals and educational aspirations, financial need, work experience, unusual personal or family circumstances, leadership skills, participation in school and community activities, and recommendation letters in making the final selections.

May is National Scholarship Month. According to USA Today, six million qualified students may not go to college in the next decade because of the cost of higher education. U.S. News and World Report states that tuition is rising four times faster than the average family income.

“In this country, university graduate earn on average 74% more than high school graduates and nearly $1 million dollars more in a lifetime,” said Betty Vernon, Program Director for the Foundation, “The Foundation is committed to creating opportunities for Hill Country students to be among those with a higher education,” she added.

Mr. Cailloux was co-founder of Keystone International and was instrumental in the company becoming a leader in the manufacturing and marketing of industrial valves for general industry. In 1981, Mr. and Mrs. Cailloux moved from Houston to Kerrville, Texas where they became very involved in charitable endeavors in the Texas Hill Country and around the state. The Foundation continues these endeavors by quietly awarding grants to eligible nonprofit organizations mainly in the Hill Country. n