We are pleased to announce the 2022 Bright Star Scholarship recipients of Hopkins County:
Carter Owen, Michelle Tijerin, Katie Tiemeyer, and Cash Vititow, Sulphur Springs High School
Connor BaileyConnor Bailey is such a wonderful and kind young man with a great future ahead of him!
He is headed to Oklahoma State University in the fall where he will be majoring in Aviation. Connor has already received a pilots license as a high school student! He stated, “I want to become a commercial airline pilot so I can travel the world and be a disciple to all I meet.” Connor is the son of Joel and Mylissa Bailey.
Connor, we are so blessed to call you a 2022 Hopkins County Bright Stars Scholar and to be a part of our Gillis Foundation family forever!
Dawson CarpenterDawson Carpenter has BIG goals. He will achieve those goals and make the spaces around him and all who come in contact with him a better place. Dawson is headed to Texas A&M in College Station in the fall and is the son of Rodney and Nikki Carpenter.
Dawson will be majoring in Aerospace Engineering and plans to enter that field after graduation. He was involved in UIL Academics, Varisty baseball, National Honors Society, a Key Club officer, Student Council and in Hopkins County Leadership.
Numerous awards and recognitions fill Dawson’s resume such as Salutatorian of his class at Sulphur Springs High School, National Merit Scholarship Commended Student, College Board National Rural and Small Town Scholar, State Champion Literary Criticism Team, State runner-up in Copy Editing and AP Scholar with Honor.
Dawson loves sports, collecting shoes, reading, playing with his dogs and hanging out with friends. He feels his greatest accomplishment to date is advancing to state in four different UIL Academics events this year! What does he still strive to accomplish? “I hope to establish myself in my career to the point that my children never have to worry about finances when considering where to attend college.”
We are thrilled to have Dawson a part of our Gillis Foundation Family!
Cable GlennCable Glenn is a very special young man who has made his way quickly into our hearts! He is a recent graduate of Sulphur Springs High School and is the son of Jason and Hayley Glenn. Cable will be headed to Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas this fall and will be majoring in Christian Ministry. Upon graduation, Cable wants to serve in ministry in a church.
Cable was a very busy student in high school! He was a member of the Chick-fil-A Leadership Class, Hopkins County Leadership and served as a class officer. Cable was also a member of Key Club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, FCCLA, Varsity Track and Football, First Baptist Church Youth Group and Youth on Missions and Course for Life.
He received numerous awards in high school of which the Ben Hogan Perseverance Award, WFAA’s Scholar Athlete of the Week recognition, President of the National Technical Honor Society, Heisman High School Student and All-State Academic Football were just a few.
He enjoys watching and playing ports, spending time with friends and family and “growing in my relationship with Christ”. He feels his greatest accomplishment to date is overcoming brain surgery to remove a fist-sized tumor and having to rehabilitate for months to function independently again. His goal yet to accomplish is to “make a difference and honor God in everything I do.” We are so very proud that Cable is a part of our foundation family forever!!!!
Makayla HallMakayla Hall is a very hard-working and grateful young woman we knew immediately would make the world a better place while reaching for her life dreams. She graduated from Como-Pickton High School and is headed first to North Texas Community College in Mt. Pleasant where she will start her journey to becoming a teacher. Makayla is the granddaughter of Richard and Donna Hall.
Makayla served as vice-president of the National Honor Society her senior year and was involved in FCCLA and UIL’s One-Act Play competition. She loved being a part of the One-Act Play competition all four years of high school and lists one of her most cherished awards as being named to the All-Star cast in that UIL competition. Other awards she has received are making A/B Honor Roll, being an Honors Graduate and 1st place both in AVID ad Interior Design her senior year. She also earned her Texas State Florists Association Knowledge-Based Certification while in high school.
Makayla states that making it in the top 10 of her graduating class and winning the Bright Stars Scholarship are two of her greatest accomplishments to date. Her personal goals in life are to show her grandparents how amazing they did raising her and to always make them proud. Makayla, we are sure you already do and will continue to do so in the future! We are so honored to recognize Makayla as a 2022 Bright Stars Scholar and are SO excited about her future!!!
Madison MartinMadison Martin is all things happy, grateful and goal-oriented! He’s kind and courteous and NOW he is a Bright Stars Scholar, too! Madison graduated from Sulphur Springs High School last month and is headed to Texas A&M in College Station, his dream school, in the fall. He is the son of Lorie Martin and Don Martin.
Madison will be majoring in Forensics and Investigative Sciences and upon graduation his goal is to come a Texas State Trooper peace officer. He was a member of both the National Honor Society ad National Technical Honor Society, 2022 Hopkins County Leadership Class, Varsity Choir, Football and Track. Madison was a member of the Key Club, HOSA and the Fire in Texas Program.
A few awards and achievements he has earned are becoming a certified firefighter in both levels I and II, competed at the state level in both solo and ensemble contests and being invited to be a part of the Bright Stars Foundation Family. He loves to play the guitar and attending church and sports.
Madison states that becoming a certified firefighter in high school is what he feels is one of his greatest accomplishments so far as well as getting accepted into Texas A&M which is a very competitive acceptance process. A future goal he has set for himself is to start a guitar program to teach anyone that they can play! We celebrate this AMAZING young man and are incredibly THRILLED at how he will add tremendous value to our work and mission over the years by being a part of our Bright Stars family!
We are so happy to introduce to you our amazing Carter Owen who has a big heart for serving others, especially children, and has big goals for his life! He is a Sulphur Springs High School graduate and headed to Texas Tech University in Lubbock this fall! He is the son of Bruce and Lory Owen and brother to our 2020 Bright Stars Scholar Thomas Owen who is also attending Texas Tech. We are adding one more healthcare provider to our foundation family because Carter will seek a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and plans to become a pediatric nurse.
Carter was very involved in the national organization HOSA while in high school and has served as the organization’s vice-president. He also served as the treasurer of the senior class as a class officer. He loves to fish, play disc golf and play his guitar. When asked what one of his greatest accomplishments to date was he said it was learning to play the bass guitar and being able to perform in front of his youth group was a major accomplishment for him.
An important personal goal Carter dreams of achieving is to become a pediatric nurse and work with children in healthcare. We love that goal and his heart for this work and children! We are so very proud that Carter has joined us as a Bright Stars Scholar and that he is one of us forever!
Michelle Tijerin
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Katie Tiemeyer
Jagger QuallsJagger Qualls is competitive. He is also super goal oriented and has a life plan. But more than that, Jagger is a kind, happy and a family-oriented young man who cares deeply for people. He is a recent graduate of Miller Grove High School and is the son of Cody and Jana Qualls. Jagger will be attending Southeastern Oklahoma State University in the fall and will be majoring in Aviation. His dream is to become a professional pilot. We know he will!
Cash VititowCash will be majoring in Agriculture Economics and plans to return back to Hopkins County and raise red Brahman cattle and market them domestically and internationally. Outside of school his time is spent raising and showing red brahman cattle. He is very proud of winning the Houston Livestock show and counts it as one of his greatest accomplishments! Way to go Cash!! He also enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time with family and friends.
Another accomplishment Cash is proud of is that he was elected by his peers as the President of the Texas Junior Brahman Association. An important life goal to Cash in his business future is to export his cattle internationally! We do not doubt this young business entrepaneur will reach that goal quickly. We are so thrilled this outstanding young man has joined the Gillis Foundation family and we just can’t get enough of that slow genuine smile we get every time we see him!!!!