IWA Scholarship donors and recipients honored at Recognition Luncheon

The Incarnate Word Academy Foundation hosted its fourteenth annual Donor Appreciation Luncheon for the Scholarship Recognition Society on April 27 to celebrate donors who have helped provide Catholic education to IWA students.
The special event provided scholarship recipients the opportunity to meet and interact with the contributors who have made their education possible through the scholarships they support.

Some 200 student recipients, generous contributors, as well as Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament (IWBS) Sisters attended the event. Also in attendance was recently retired John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation President and CEO Marc Cisneros and current CITGO Government and Public Affairs Manager, Larry Elizondo.

For the 2016-2017 school year 37% of all Incarnate Word Academy students received a scholarship and/or a tuition award. These scholarships help the school recruit and retain a talented and diverse student body.

Featured speakers for this year’s luncheon included IWA Foundation Vice President Sister Colette Brehony, IWBS ’54 and two scholarship recipients, seniors Delayna Ramirez and Marcos Tapia. The two active seniors expressed how their scholarships have had a profound impact on their education and experience as students at IWA.

Ramirez, a current A.P. student, soccer player, and member of the National Honor Society says the one thing she realized after hearing stories from her friends who attend public school is how blessed she is to attend a Catholic School with people who share the same beliefs as herself.

“I have learned to not take for granted the opportunity of going to weekly Mass or being able to pray or ask for prayer whenever needed,” Ramirez said. “I am truly grateful to be a part of a Catholic community where I can continue to grow in my faith.”

Tapia, an A.P. and dual credit student who is the recipient of the Sara Solis Scholarship, said the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and the mission work he has had the opportunity to participate in has helped reinforce the presence of Christ in his life.

"Being a part of my community has been very important to me," Tapia said. "I will forever be grateful to Incarnate Word for providing me with opportunities to do just that."