Artwork by Aubrie Aguilar.
CROWN SCHOLARSHIPS 2020
Marfa Live Arts awards $45,000 in Crown Scholarships to eight Marfa High School Seniors. These 2020 graduates have not only excelled in academics but have also been involved with Marfa Live Arts’ programs at MISD for many years. Each scholar will receive $5,500 to assist in their pursuit of higher education.
The Marfa Live Arts Crown Scholarship was created to help the students with their education and was made more important as the students face a post-Covid-19 world. It’s a challenging year for everyone, and we believe it’s very important for these kids to continue their education and to strive toward achieving their dreams. We believe in these kids, and we want to help them get started.
The eight Crown Scholar awardees are: Tais Chanez, Jared Forrestal, Elena Hernandez, Isabella Morales, Ruben Watts-Ortiz, Angelique Quinoñez, Bryan Torres, and Avery Beltran.
Awardee Tais Chanez, who has been involved with Marfa Live Arts for eight years and was a published winning playwright in the 21 Short Plays for the 21st Century by Marfa Shorthorns book (NoPassport Press), is pursuing a career in nursing and shares that she wants to avoid contributing to the statistics that show 60% of teenage mothers dropping out of high school with 98% not achieving a college education. “I will not be a part of that, I will beat statistics and I will make a great living that will provide my son the life that he deserves,” adding that the scholarship will be instrumental in achieving her ambitions. “Receiving the scholarship is a huge contribution into furthering my education. It is an honor and blessing to receive a scholarship from Marfa live Arts since I have grown up knowing Marfa Live Arts.”
Congratulations to these exceptional young scholars!
Big Bend Sentinel Article about Crown Scholarships