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Je'Sani Smith Foundation, Valero awards scholarships to six local students headed to college

Posted at 5:31 PM, Aug 07, 2023

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX — The Jesani Smith Foundation has awarded six scholarships to local students who will soon start college in the fall.

Each scholarship is worth $1,200, all thanks to a generous donation from Valero Corpus Christi Refineries.

In order to receive this award, the applicants had to write an essay about water safety, an important subject for the Je'Sani Smith Foundation.

"I think what this scholarship shows is that students have initiative. They're ambitious, and they care. We look at extracurriculars and grades, but we really do value the time they take to write those 1500 words. How they interpret it and caring enough to do that research," said Kannon Hall, Director of Ambassador and Scholarship Initiatives.

The scholarships were distributed at a ceremony on Saturday evening at the Embassy Suites in Corpus Christi, Texas.

During the award ceremony, the following students were individually recognized:

  • Sahara Colbert, homeschooled, will attend the University of Texas-San Antonio
  • Alex Flinchbaugh, W.B. Ray High School, will attend Texas A&M University
  • Katrina Horst, Gregory-Portland High School, will attend Texas A&M University
  • Margo Hatton, Gregory-Portland High School, will attend Texas A&M University
  • Ian Longoria, Gregory-Portland High School, will attend Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
  • Makayla Rodriguez, Gregory-Portland High School, will attend Texas A&M University

For more information or to donate to the Foundation, visit www.jesanismithfoundation.org.