The scholarships were awarded through a partnership with VU Scholarships, a platform that matches high school seniors with eligible scholarships. CISD had 8,808 scholarships awarded among Celina High School’s 286 seniors.
“We’re all about the next level thinking, and this is a great program to do that,” CISD Superintendent Thomas Maglisceau said. “This is recognition of how great our kids are and how much they have to contribute to the world.”
How it happened
Celina High parents opted in for the district to provide students’ GPAs and applicable data to VU Scholarships, which pairs students up with the scholarships they are eligible for. Students will still need to apply for the colleges they received scholarships from.
“It’s a testament to the [student’s] hard work, and it is such an honor to do this for them [and] to make the process of going to college and university easier on them and their families,” Celina High School Principal John Burdett said.
Students received scholarships from colleges and universities from 11 states that partner with VU Scholarships, including:
- Arkansas
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Oklahoma
- South Dakota
- Texas
VU Scholarships was founded by Marquez’s father, Edward, who wanted to provide students with the opportunity to attend college or inspire students to aspire for higher education.
Celina ISD is the first school district in Texas to use the program.
“We’re so blessed to have [Celina ISD] as our first partner,” Marquez said. “We’re really excited about bringing this to more Texas schools.”
