UHV NewsWire
Contact:  Amber Aldaco 361-570-4296

New $250,000 scholarship fund to help health careers honors students


Students from the Coastal Bend region who are planning to take honors courses and major in a health-related field this academic year have the opportunity to be awarded a new scholarship at the University of Houston-Victoria.

The Victoria Region Health Career Honors Program Scholarship will provide scholarships for 31 UHV students. Students chosen for the scholarship will each receive $2,000 a year. The scholarship funding is from a 2019 grant and will be dispersed beginning fall 2020.

Jesse Pisors

“We are excited to offer this new scholarship for our students,” said Jesse Pisors, vice president for advancement and external relations. “Right now, scholarships are more important than ever, and we want to make sure that our students have as many opportunities as possible to achieve their educational goals. We also want to encourage the area’s ‘best and brightest’ to put UHV at the top of their list of postsecondary options.”

Eligible undergraduate students at UHV will be from the Coastal Bend region and majoring in a health-related field such as nursing, biology or health studies. They also could be majoring in a biology degree that will prepare them for a graduate biomedical sciences degree, health care management or certain areas of kinesiology. In addition, they must be in the UHV Honors Program. To be a member of the program, a student must maintain a 3.5 GPA, take at least four honors courses during their time as an undergraduate and take at least one face-to-face class each term. 

Justin Bell

Students who are part of the UHV Honors Program are interested in high academic performance and have an interest in being active members of the university community. The program also offers students additional possibilities for research projects and interaction with faculty and other high-performing students, said Justin Bell, UHV associate professor of philosophy and program director.

“It is our hope that the Honors Program will help students develop fruitful academic and professional relationships,” Bell said. “This scholarship will help our honors students pay for their education and maintain their focus on their studies.”

The new scholarship will be a great opportunity for students in the UHV School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development, the school’s Interim Dean Rachel Martinez said. 

“We are excited to have this opportunity to help our local students from our rural communities,” Martinez said. “Our students work hard, and it is wonderful to have this multiyear scholarship available for our health-focused students.”

Undergraduate students in the UHV School of Arts & Sciences studying biomedical sciences also will benefit from the scholarship, the school’s Interim Dean Beverly Tomek said. 

“Students from the Coastal Bend can earn a quality and affordable degree without having to leave the area,” Tomek said. “UHV is a great choice to achieve higher education goals, and scholarships like this one help our students achieve their dreams.”

To learn more about the Victoria Region Health Career Honors Program Scholarship and the UHV Honors Program, contact Justin Bell at bellj1@uhv.edu.

The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region, offers courses leading to more than 65 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and concentrations in the schools of Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, Education & Human Development, and Nursing. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus as well as teaching sites in Fort Bend and Harris counties, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. Since its founding in 1973, UHV has provided students with a quality university education from excellent faculty at an affordable price.

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