By MARC ARTEUS, Staff Reporter |
The Amarillo Independent School District (AISD) has started a program that will help students get through college.
The THRIVE Amarillo Scholarship Program is set up to allow individuals who did well in high school to continue their education at Amarillo College without having to worry about finances. THRIVE covers the cost of 60-hours of tuition, books and fees at AC.
Connie Bradford, THRIVE facilitator, said she thinks this is a great program. “We are hoping that we will see great success with it and that we will continue on for a very long time,” she said.
She added that one of the main goals of this program is to make sure that everybody has a path to a living wage. “We want them to be debt free if they ever choose to go on for a bachelor’s degree,” Bradford said.
Ruth De Anda, an AC academic adviser, said that this program will help students to save up money in case they want to transfer to a university.
“At least 60-hours for free is an incredible thing to get. That takes care of the first two years of school and then they can go to a university where it will cost a lot more,” De Anda said.
Thomas Diaz, a general studies major, said that students who are included in the program will have a sense of security knowing that they do not have to worry about their tuition and getting their textbooks for their classes, “by being able to focus mainly on the classes, it allows me to do what I have to do and that is to learn,” Diaz said.
There are multiple requirements for eligibility. A student must be enrolled in one of the four AISD high schools (Amarillo High School, Caprock High School, Palo Duro High School and Tascosa High School) throughout his or her entire high school career in order to be eligible for the program.
Students must also have at least an 80 percent final high school grade-point average and cannot have any disciplinary issues. Additionally, students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to qualify for THRIVE.
THRIVE is called a “last money in” scholarship, meaning all federal and private aid is applied toward the student’s tuition balance before any award made by the THRIVE Amarillo Scholarship funds.
To learn more about the THRIVE Amarillo Scholarship Program, go to https://thriveamarillo.org.
This is a corrected version of the print story that appeared in Volume 89 | Issue 11 of The Ranger, which incorrectly reported that students must be eligible to receive financial aid in order to qualify for THRIVE. The Ranger regrets this error.
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