My name is Alex Walheim, and I was a 2015 recipient of the Mary Cecile Chambers Scholarship Award. Words cannot express how honored and grateful I have been for this scholarship. With the help of this scholarship, I recently graduated Magna Cum Laude with an overall GPA of 3.88 from the University of Texas at Austin. I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Government with a minor in History in 3 ½ years, including my last semester, which was spent interning in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, I have been accepted into the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin and will return this fall to pursue a Master’s degree. With this degree, I plan to work in government or with a nonprofit advocacy group. I also intend to apply to the school’s dual-degree program with UT’s law school. I do not know yet what the future holds for me, but I am confident that the skills and knowledge that I have gained from my time at UT, with the help of this scholarship, will be invaluable to me as I continue to work towards achieving my goals of advocating for those in need.
The Mary Cecile Chambers Scholarship has played an instrumental role in making my dreams a reality. My brother and I have both been in college simultaneously for the past three years, presenting a significant financial challenge to my family. The money that I received from this award has gone a long way towards ensuring that both my brother and I graduate from college. The sense of honor and gratitude that I felt on the day that I found out I won this scholarship back in 2015 has never left me. I am still humbled that out of all the incredibly qualified applicants, I was chosen for this award. Once again, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity, and I wish you all the best.