Dr. Vanessa Norris ’13 (M.Ed. ’15)

For 25 years, the Community Scholars program has been putting TCU’s core values into action, strengthening its commitment to the Fort Worth community and equipping scholars to lead. 

“We cultivate and teach them how to lead, how to serve and to do so with empathy, compassion and heart,” Vanessa Roberts Bryan, assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs, said. “They lead for the greater good by serving. They’re showing others what TCU is, showing what it means to be a Horned Frog and showing others that they can be the same.”

In 2000, under Chancellor Michael Ferrari, TCU launched the Community Scholars program, offering full scholarships to exceptional local students. In its first year, there were a dozen from six area high schools. Today, 51 scholars are selected from 13 participating schools. 

“The scholars bring their talents and gifts to TCU, contribute to the TCU experience, and then go back into the community that poured into them, and they’re pouring back in turn into the community,” Roberts Bryan said. 

Many alumni remain in Fort Worth and are leading at every level – government, education, health care, nonprofits and business. One is Phi Nguyen ’11, who graduated from Fort Worth ISD, majored in engineering and is now an engineer at Bell Helicopter.

“The program shaped me professionally because I continue to find ways to learn and grow while also finding ways to distribute that knowledge to others,” Nguyen said. “I’m actively leading groups in both my workplace and community through volunteer activities and events, as well as always making time to support active Community Scholars and alumni. By giving back, I have hope that our future generations will continue to improve the world.”

Vanessa Norris ’13 (M.Ed. ’15) is also a Fort Worth ISD graduate who majored in biology at TCU and was a laureate of the John V. Roach Honors College. She went on to earn her master’s in educational leadership from TCU before attending UT Southwestern for medical school. She is now a physician in obstetrics and gynecology. 

“As a scholar, giving back to and enhancing your surroundings through service was the priority,” Norris said. “Today, I use these principles as I provide health care to women of all races, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds, and I hope to improve their lives one interaction at a time. I owe this sense of purpose to my time at TCU.”

Timeka Gordon, director of the Community Scholars program, said that it is very common for their alumni to reach out and give back, supporting TCU students as mentors, often offering internships or even job opportunities. That seed was planted when they were active, involved students themselves. 

“These students have helped change our culture,” Gordon said. “What we see at TCU now is a direct impact from the engagement and leadership of these scholars, who are active in student associations, government, sororities and fraternities.” 

That engagement is promoted through the program requirement that even local students live on campus so they can have the full college experience. Their scholarship covers tuition, housing, fees, books, supplies and even study abroad if they choose. As part of that, the students are expected to participate in leadership and social activities. The overall experience cultivates the whole student, Gordon said. 

“I see them blossom and grow as they find their passion and purpose,” she said. “They sometimes must push beyond their boundaries. I tell them, ‘You should never graduate the same person you were when you came.’”

By any account, Community Scholars is a success. Since its inception, nearly 1,000 scholars have been admitted into the program, with a graduation rate of more than 90%.

“We had outstanding local students applying and being accepted to TCU, but the cost kept them from coming,” Gordon said. “The original 12 were exceptional contributors who all graduated in four years.”

The contributions of Community Scholars and its champions were recently recognized for their 25 years. The Tarrant County Commissioners Court presented a celebratory resolution, and TCU’s homecoming weekend featured “The Silver Anniversary: Coming Home” event that welcomed scholars, spouses and children.

“In the next 25 years, we see the program still being part of the fabric and heart of TCU and Fort Worth,” Gordon said. “I’d love to see it grow to have 100 scholars every year and to see more schools be part of it. The program’s continued legacy is not just one that our institution and families can be proud of, but the entire state of Texas.”