Student Success Initiatives

Who is Reba Bock?

Reba Bock was the first female official elected in Walker County (1923-1941). She ran for office after women received suffrage and served as County Treasurer for over sixteen years. Reba Bock's roots are deeply grounded in Walker County and with Sam Houston State University.

Reba Bock also helped a large number of young residents of Walker County to attend the University by providing housing as well as employment. Thanks to her generosity a large number of those young people became teachers, principals, and superintendents.

What is the Reba Bock Fellows Experience?

Each year, the Reba Bock Fellows Scholarship ($3,000) is awarded to support an innovative proposal for a sustainable activity/project/program that makes a positive contribution to the community. The project must be developed and implemented in collaboration with a community partner in the Huntsville/Walker County area or at SHSU. The Reba Bock Fellows Scholarship was made possible by Reba Bock’s grandchildren. They established the endowment to honor the legacy of their grandmother.

How to Apply

Applicants are asked to create and attach a proposal for a project that will assist a community partner and/or members of the community. They must ask a faculty member to act as a mentor to guide them in their project. After the award is accepted, the first semester will primarily consist of the planning phase of the project and the second semester will focus on the implementation phase. To be eligible for this award, students are required to be enrolled as a student for two back-to-back semesters. Toward the end of the final semester, award recipients will be asked to present their project to campus and community audiences and will be asked to create a short video about their project. The Center for Community Engagement staff are available to assist students, faculty mentors, and the community partner organization throughout the project. The deadline to apply is February 1st.

Who is Arleigh B. Templeton?

Arleigh Brantley Templeton (April 18, 1916 - October 28, 2006) was born in New Waverly, Texas. He received an undergraduate degree from Sam Houston State Teachers College in 1936 and masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Houston. After a stint as president of Alvin Junior College (1954--1964), Dr. Templeton became president of Sam Houston State Teachers College, succeeding Harmon Lowman. Dr. Templeton was named a Distinguished Alumnus by Sam Houston State University in 1977. He was elected president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1967, was appointed to Texas Governor John B. Connally's Committee on Education Beyond the High School and spent 30 years on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Arleigh Templeton was committed to developing strong student leaders who served the community. His story, and the Templeton Fellows Experience, will leave a legacy that will inspire others to live the SHSU motto, "The measure of a Life is its Service."

What is the Templeton Graduate
Fellows Experience?

Each year the Templeton Fellows Experience ($2,000 scholarship) will provide an opportunity for a Sam Houston State University graduate student who demonstrates leadership potential to accomplish a project that benefits the community. This endowment was established in honor of former SHSU President, Arleigh Brantley Templeton, by alum Dan Beto and his wife Donna Beto.

How to Apply

Applicants are asked to create and attach a proposal for a project that will assist the community – any community. They must ask a faculty member to act as a mentor to guide them in their project. To be eligible for this award, students are required to be enrolled as a student for the upcoming summer/fall or fall/spring semesters. Toward the end of the final semester, those selected for this honor will be required to present the results of their community leadership project in several venues. Applications are due February 1st.

Who are Dan and Marsha Phillips?

Dan Phillips was a designer and builder in Huntsville, Texas, who, together with his wife Marsha, founded a housing initiative called The Phoenix Commotion. Having witnessed waste in the construction industry for many years, Dan was inspired to reduce waste while also solving social problems in the local community. He hired and trained unskilled workers to transform free, salvaged, and recycled materials into creative, low income housing. Experience in their business of art and antique restoration served them well in the reclamation of construction waste to fabricate attractive, energy-efficient houses. Throughout its evolution, Marsha helped Dan shape the design and direction of The Phoenix Commotion as his most trusted advisor and an artist herself.

What is the Phoenix Commotion Fellowship?

Each year, the Phoenix Commotion Fellows Scholarship ($1,000) is awarded to support the development and implementation of an art-based initiative or project for the benefit of the Huntsville community. The Phoenix Commotion Fellowship will provide an opportunity for Sam Houston State University students, with a passion for creative problem solving, the arts, sustainability, and community engagement, to make a significant contribution to the local Huntsville, TX community by way of a creative or art-based community implemented initiative or project. The Phoenix Commotion Fellowship was made possible by the Ed and Jean Mathews Foundation and the Family of Dan and Marsha Phillips. They established the endowment to honor the legacy of Dan and Marsha Phillips.

How to Apply

In Scholarship4Kats, applicants are asked to create and attach a proposal for a creative and/or art-based project that is designed and implemented in partnership with a community partner to improve life, solve a social problem, or further sustainability. Applicants must ask a faculty member to act as a mentor to guide them in their project. After the award is accepted, the first semester will primarily consist of the planning phase of the project and the second semester will focus on the implementation phase. To be eligible for this award, students are required to be enrolled for two back-to-back semesters. Toward the end of the final semester, award recipients will be asked to present their project to campus and/or community audiences and will be asked to create a short video about their project. The Center for Community Engagement staff are available to assist students, faculty mentors, and the community partner organization throughout the project. The deadline to apply is February 1st.

Scholarship Event Information

Registration: https://www.shsu.edu/dept/fye/common-reading-program/contests.html (Link at top of page)

What Is It? - The event emphasizes deliberation (communication and understanding nuance), not debate (not winners/losers). We seek to help individuals critically think through data and experiences to find common ground.

Food/Drink? – Yes, we feed our participants dinner and dessert, with free-flowing coffee.

Who? – Events are open to students, faculty, staff, and admin (and occasionally community members). The more diverse the population, the better the conversations.

Groups? – Groups will be formed at random to better ensure a diversity of thought and experience.

Scholarship? – The process will be documented and evaluated for each participating group’s ability to critically analyze data, find shared values/common ground, identify sources of bias in thinking, and seek a variety of stakeholder input. Students in winning teams are able to win scholarship funds for the subsequent semester. On occasion, we can afford funding to the SHSU employees in the winning groups as well.

Stay the Entire Time? – We ask that participants stay the entire event (especially students) if they wish to be considered for a scholarship (or one-time-pay, or OM purchase).

Typical Feeling at Event? – Participants report feeling anxious at the beginning of the event (expecting a debate or conflict) but end up engaging in meaningful/relaxed/productive conversations. We consistently have to remind participants when the event is over, that they can leave (folks want to keep talking).

Resources:

NIFI , NCDD, Braver Angels, https://sustaineddialogue.org/, https://openmindplatform.org/

The Academic Success Center, First Year Experience, Academic Success Center, and the Office of the Provost are hosting an essay contest for full-time undergraduate students. The purpose of this contest is to showcase SHSU students’ commitment to civic engagement and the betterment of their communities.

Scholarships will be awarded to first place ($1000), second place ($750), and third place ($250) submissions.

Winners will also be recognized in an outline publication and on the academic success center’s website. We are looking for short, personal narratives demonstrating the theme “The measure of a life is its service.” We want true stories of SHSU students committed to extraordinary service and civic engagement. Essays may feature personal, first-hand experiences or may showcase service observed in others.

There is no minimum length required, but the maximum length of the essay is 500 words. All essays will be blindly reviewed and evaluated for both content and form. After the initial judging, a small set of essays will be recognized for overall excellence and recommended for publication. The winning essays will then be selected from this group. The essay must be submitted by end of day on March 23rd, 2025 to measureofalife@shsu.edu. Electronic submission is required. Submissions should be sent as email attachments (.doc, .docx, or .rtf files only) with the email subject line as “The measure of a life essay contest.” Winners will be announced by April 7th.

Each contestant may submit only one paper to the contest. To permit blind reviewing, there should be no self-references or other identifying elements within the papers; please do not include a heading the with author’s name. Essays should be double-spaced.

In the body of your email, please include:

Your full name

Sam ID

Your e-mail address

Your telephone number

The following statement of authenticity: “I am submitting an original essay to the Sam Houston Academic Success Center essay contest. I certify that this essay is my own work. I understand that my essay will not be returned to me and may be used by Sam Houston State University for publication in promotional materials.”