OLLU students named Charles Butt Scholars, application open for 2024-2025

Ten new students in OLLU's Education Department have been named Charles Butt Scholars. They join a prestigious group of 18 current scholars and 37 scholar alumni. Scholars receive $8,000 in scholarship support while they are working towards their degree and teacher certification. This year's scholars received a total of $80,000.

OLLU is one of only 20 universities where students can apply for the scholarship. The application for the 2024-2025 academic year is now open. To learn more about the scholarship and application process, please visit: https://www.ollusa.edu/cps/programs/education/charles-butt-scholarship.html.

OLLU's 2023-2024 Charles Butt Scholars are:
Yadira Hernandez
Tanya Barrientos
Sabastian Moreno
Gabriela Guadarrama
Dean Martinez
Andrew Vanover
Analia Lopez
Aliana Hartman
Lyndee Rheinberger
Joselinn Perez

Returning scholars are:
Kaitlynn Burket
Nayeli Cordova
Nicholas Cortez
Marissa Escamilla
Emma Maltos
Richard Martinez
Madelyn Miller
Zenneth Ortiz
Leyla Perales
Bianca Rodriguez
Lizette Rodriguez
Nicholas Salas
Samantha Amaya
Camila Hernandez
De'Jon Lewis
Aidan Wollenzier
Hailey Faz
Casie Ziegler-Bellinger

To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be committed to teaching in the Texas public school system in either a Title 1 or majority economically disadvantaged school or in a shortage subject area (math, science, special education, or bilingual).

The Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers is designed to encourage and support the state's most promising students to pursue a career in teaching through one of the state's best university-based teacher preparation programs. Scholarship recipients are selected by the Charles Butt Foundation in partnership with those universities through a rigorous application process.

"OLLU has been preparing teachers of excellence for more than 113 years," said Dr. Alycia Maurer, Education Department Chair and Associate Dean. "Our participation in the Charles Butt Scholars program is a testament to our students, faculty and staff and the tremendous work we have been doing for more than a century."

The Charles Butt Scholarship selects talented and diverse aspiring teachers who demonstrate leadership potential, and ensures they are supported financially and professionally throughout their journey to becoming a teacher.

"We are extremely grateful to the Charles Butt Foundation for partnering with us in our pursuit of developing high quality teachers who will make a significant difference in our community," said Maurer. "We also appreciate the Foundation's Support in our continuous program improvement work."