New $100,000 scholarship fund for student-athletes, health majors
University of Houston-Victoria student-athletes from the Coastal Bend area planning to major in a health-related field now have the opportunity to be awarded a new scholarship at the university.
The Victoria Region Student-Athletes Health Career Scholarship will provide scholarships starting this fall for up to a dozen UHV student-athletes. Students chosen for the scholarship will be awarded over the next two years. The $100,000 in scholarship funding is from a 2019 grant.
“Student-athletes work hard in the classroom and on the field, and we are excited to offer this new scholarship,” said Jesse Pisors, vice president for advancement and external relations. “This is a wonderful opportunity for students from the Coastal Bend area to showcase their athletic abilities at UHV while receiving funding to help them on their educational journey.”
Eligible undergraduate students will be UHV student-athletes in the sports of baseball, softball, men’s and women’s golf, or men’s and women’s soccer. The student-athletes must be from the Coastal Bend region who are majoring in a health-related field, such as nursing, biology or health studies. Eligible student-athletes 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.
Because health fields across the nation are growing, health-related studies are becoming more popular for students to pursue, said Jose Cantu, UHV vice president for enrollment management.
“UHV wants to support the region and students living in this area who want to go into health-related fields,” Cantu said. “We are excited to have the opportunity to offer additional scholarships for student-athletes and to expand opportunities in the future.”
During the past year, two UHV alumni baseball players have become physical therapists, UHV Athletics Director Ashley Walyuchow said. Scholarships like the Victoria Region Student-Athletes Health Career Scholarship can help students fund their studies to go on to become physical therapists, doctors, nurses and administrators, which also helps the Coastal Bend region.
“Scholarships are more important than ever during the era of COVID-19, and the more we can help our student-athletes, the better,” he said. “Our student-athletes love UHV, and they get a great education while they are here. The students are pursuing their dreams, and we are here to help them facilitate those dreams.”
Those interested in establishing scholarship support for student-athletes may contact Walyuchow at athletics@uhv.edu.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
