2022 Scholarship Winners

 

We are pleased to announce the 2022 Bright Star Scholarship recipients of Hopkins County:

Connor Bailey, Dawson Carpenter, Cable Glenn, Madison Martin,
Carter Owen, Michelle Tijerin, Katie Tiemeyer, and Cash Vititow, 
Sulphur Springs High School
Makayla Hall, Como-Pickton High School
Jagger Qualls, Miller Grove High School
 
We are so honored and blessed to get to help tell these stories for years to come.
Congratulations to all of you, we look forward to your journeys and the BRIGHT future ahead for each of you!
Special thanks to Chad’s Media for documenting this amazing day awarding the scholarships featured here.
 

Connor Bailey

Connor 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 Carpenter

Dawson 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 Glenn

Cable 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 Hall
Makayla 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!!!
 
We are so happy you are a part of our family forever!!!

Madison Martin

Madison 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!


Carter Owen

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
Michelle Tijerin is exactly the type of high school student John and Deborah Gillis dreamed of giving wings to so she could fly out into the world and make her own dreams come true! This amazing young woman graduated from Sulphur Springs High School this past May and will be attending the Univrsity of Texas at Austin this fall majoring in International Relations and Global Studies. Upon graduation from UT she will attend Law School and ultimately enter the field of Immigration Law.
 
MIchelle was very active at SSHS where she was a member of the Key Club, Student Council, Business Professionals of America and Dare to Dream which all helped prepare her for her career! She was also in the National Honor Society, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and the National Technical Honor Society. Michelle enjoys reading and she loves buying clothes and expanding her wardrobe by creating her own different styles! She also enjoys swimming, shopping with her mother, playing chess with her father and annoying her siblings 🙂!
 
When asked what her greatest accomplishment to date in life has been her response was, “My greatest accomplishment is making my parents proud with all the accomplishments I have made such as graduating with honors, being the first in my family to attend college, getting accepted into a competitive university and earning the Bright Stars Scholarship and being a part of this amazing foundation.” She dreams of reaching the goal of becoming a successful lawyer one day and to give back to her parents “for what all they have sacrificed in life for me to be successful”. We could not be more thrilled to introduce to you the future Ms. Michelle Tijerin, Attorney at Law!
 

Katie Tiemeyer
We have a quiet little firecracker we are thrilled to introduce to you as one of our 2022 Bright Stars Scholars! Katie Tiemeyer may come in a small package but she has a HUGE heart and is a bundle of energy and joy! Katie recently graduated from Sulphur Springs High School and is headed to the University of Texas at Tyler as a Nutritional Science major and UTT cheerleader. She is the daughter of Amy and Jeff Tiemeyer and the sister of Zach Tiemeyer, a 2020 Bright Stars Scholar, who is currently majoring in Chiropractic Medicine at Parker University in Dallas.
Katie’s professional goals are to become certified in Nutrition and Dietetics and go into the healthcare profession in some capacity. She was very busy as a high school student being involved in many clubs and organizations. She was a member of the Key Club and the Hopkins County Teen Leadership class of 2022. She serves in the pre-teen department at The Way Bible Church and was Varsity Cheer Captain at Sulphur Springs High School. Katie was also a member of the Technical Honors Society and in the top 10% of her class.
Katie loves being outdoors, hanging out with her family and friends, going to church and cheerleading. When asked about her greatest accomplishment at 18 years old, Katie stated, “In all of high school, I was never one to stress deeply over grades, because to me success is more shown though the heart. I would say my greatest accomplishment is that I did my absolute best at reflecting the love of Jesus to my classmates and peers.”
Katie says her long term goal is to become certified in nutrition and dietetics “so that I can help people who struggle with body image, learn to love themselves again, and see themselves the way Jesus does.” Katie, you are amazing and we adore you and your heart!!! We are thrilled you are a part of our Bright Stars family forever!!!!
 
 
 
 


Jagger Qualls
Jagger 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!
 
Jagger played both baseball and basketball all four years of high school and made the play offs in baseball his senior year. He competed in UIL competitions and was a state qualifier twice in Speech. Jagger also was selected as a All-State Outfielder in baseball as well as an Honorable Mention Pitcher.
 
Jagger is very close to his family and says the best times for him are spent with his family and friends. He feels his greatest accomplishments so far in life are being named to the All-State baseball team and graduating with an Associates Degree from Paris Junior College before his high school graduation. He says his personal goal is to simply “always serve others throughout the rest of my life”. And THAT is why we are so thrilled to announce Jagger as one of our 2022 Bright Stars Scholars! He is one amazing young man who will brighten the world of many around him! 

Cash Vititow
Sulphur Springs High School graduate Cash Vititow is our final Bright Stars Scholar to be PROUDLY introduced! Cash is headed to College Station this fall and this tall lanky cowboy is the son of Chuck and Shannon Vititow.
Cash 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!!!!