Scholarship Program
Women in Public Finance Texas Chapter Scholarship
About the Program
The Women in Public Finance – Texas Chapter was founded in 2012 as a chapter of the national organization, Women in Public Finance (www.wpfc.com). The goal of Women in Public Finance – Texas Chapter is to advance leadership opportunities for women by fostering relationships and providing educational activities and forums.
Participants include state and local government issuers, not-for-profit issuers, investment bankers, attorneys, financial advisors, rating agency analysts, trust officers, and municipal market investors. The Texas chapter provides opportunities for personal contact among our regional members and regional activities that complement the more nationally focused activities of the national organization. Current plans for regional events include educational forums and panel discussions at colleges and universities.
What is Public Finance?
Public finance generally refers to how governments raise & spend money for their services and capital needs. Individuals who work in public finance help governments at all levels—national, state, and local—obtain the necessary financial resources, (such as through the sale of municipal bonds) to fund certain capital projects, including but not limited to, schools, roads, parks, water infrastructure, police/fire stations.
2024 Scholarship Applications Submissions
All scholarship applications must be submitted via the online form and must be received no later than 11:59 P.M., Central Time on Friday, April 19, 2024.
Scholarship Program History
Devoted Wife and Mother to Dave and Lisa. Friend to Many. Passionate Advocate for All.
These are just a few words that describe Katheryn “Kate” Anne Bechtold. A staunch advocate for equal access to opportunity and natural leader who found success in a myriad of professional endeavors but never lost her community focus, Kate embodied the ideals espoused by the Women in Public Finance organization.
Kate earned a BS in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Computer Science, and immediately put her IT skills to work writing engine failure prediction programs for Cummins Engine Company. Subsequently, Kate received an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Bloomington and went to work for Xerox Corporation in Rochester, New York as a financial analyst with the Canadian and Latin American groups.
A high profile successful stint as the volunteer coordinator for the 2004 Superbowl Host Committee where she was responsible for the 17,000 volunteers who staffed the NFL Experience at the George R. Brown center led to her next position as a key member of Houston’s Public Works financial management team overseeing the System’s rate setting measures, contract negotiations and municipal bond issuances. Although her professional commitments were many and varied, Kate still found time for charitable activities including volunteering with the National Charity League with her daughter, Lisa, where they earned a Mother-Daughter award for their outstanding service to the community. Though Kate passed away in 2016, her spirit of excellence and dedication to equality will forever be cherished.
The Texas Women In Public Finance feel incredibly privileged to honor her legacy by offering the “Katheryn Bechtold Scholarship” to young women to assist in their pursuit of higher education at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Scholarship Program Overview
Women in Public Finance – Texas Chapter (TX-WPF) operates a scholarship program that provides scholarships annually. For 2024, there will be up to seven recipients as follows:
- Two (2) scholarship of $1,000 to a college-bound, female high school senior;
- Two (2) scholarships of $1,500 each to a female undergraduate student;
- Three (3) scholarships of $3,000 each to a female graduate student.
Recipients are eligible to reapply for scholarship consideration after providing all the prior year’s scholarship documentation. The purpose of the Women in Public Finance Texas Chapter scholarship program is:
1. To Recognize
a. Texas college-bound, female high school seniors,
b. Texas female undergraduate, and
c. Texas female graduate school or non-traditional graduate level students who have exhibited resilient scholastic achievement and demonstrated leadership skills;
2. To encourage the consideration of careers in finance and, more specifically, public finance;
3. To provide an opportunity for scholarship recipients to meet women established in the public finance industry and learn about various career options and opportunities available.
Additional Scholarship Opportunity
Recipients of the Women in Public Finance - Texas Chapter scholarships will be automatically advanced to the National Women in Public Finance (WPF) organization for consideration of an additional scholarship award from National WPF. In 2023, National WPF awarded 5 scholarships totaling $15,000. The first place winner received $5,000 and the remaining four winners received $2,500 each.
Scholarship Qualifications and Applications
IMPORTANT UPDATE - 2024 Scholarship Applications Submissions
All scholarship applications must now be submitted online via the form submission found on the website (https://txwpf.com/scholarship-application) and must be received no later than 11:59 P.M., Central Time on Friday, April 19, 2024. If you have any questions about this new process, please email [email protected].
Freshman
Entering Freshman Qualifications
To qualify and apply for the scholarship, the applicant must, at a minimum:
1. Identify as female,
2. Be a college-bound high school senior graduating from a Texas school and planning to attend a Texas Institution of higher education in the Fall of 2024.
3. Minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent, for all cumulative high school level courses;
4. Exhibit leadership skills through extracurricular activities, work experience, volunteer positions, and/or community service;
5. Have an interest in pursuing a public finance related career, which may include the fields of finance, banking, government, non-profits, or law; and;
6. Complete and submit the following that comprise one (1) complete scholarship application:
-The 2024 TX-WPF Scholarship Application Form
-The TX-WPF Essay Submission
-Copies of your official academic transcripts that reflect no less than two years of completed course work; a longer academic history is welcomed. All transcripts will only be accepted in PDF format. Acceptable transcripts are as follows:
i. Official Transcripts
ii. Emailed Transcripts from your institution
7. All required documents to be submitted with the scholarship application form (transcripts, essays, etc.) need to be combined into a single (1) PDF and are to be submitted via the form on www.txwpf.com/scholarship-application. Completed applications are due no later than 11:59 P.M., Central Time on Friday, April 19, 2024.
Undergraduates
Undergraduate Qualifications
To qualify and apply for the Undergraduate Scholarship, the applicant must, at a minimum:
1. Identify as female,
2. Be an undergraduate student enrolled in or planning to attend a Texas Institution of higher education in the Fall of 2024;
3. Graduate level candidates do not have a minimum GPA requirement, however, they must Minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent, for all cumulative high school level courses;
4. Exhibit leadership skills through extracurricular activities, work experience, volunteer positions, and/or community service;
5. Have an interest in pursuing a public finance related career, which may include the fields of finance, banking, government, non-profits, or law; and;
6. Complete and submit the following that comprise one (1) complete scholarship packet:
- The 2024 TX-WPF Scholarship Application Form
- The TX-WPF Essay Submissions
- Copies of your official academic transcripts that reflect no less than two years of completed course work; a longer academic history is welcomed. All transcripts will only be accepted in PDF format. Acceptable transcripts are as follows:
i. Official Transcripts
ii. Emailed Transcripts from your institution
7. All required documents to be submitted with the scholarship application form (transcripts, essays, etc.) need to be combined into a single (1) PDF and are to be submitted via the form on www.txwpf.com/scholarship-application. Completed applications are due no later than 11:59 P.M., Central Time on Friday, April 19, 2024
Graduate
Graduate Qualifications
To qualify and apply for the Graduate Scholarship, the applicant must, at a minimum:
1. Identify as female,
2. Be a graduate student enrolled in or planning to attend a Texas Institution of higher education in the Fall of 2024;
3. Graduate level candidates do not have a minimum GPA requirement, however, they must demonstrate that they are in good standing with their institution of higher learning. Any student with a GPA under 3.0 on a 4.0 GPA scale will have the opportunity to discuss their trials within the required essays;
4. Exhibit leadership skills through extracurricular activities, work experience, volunteer positions, and/or community service;
5. Have an interest in pursuing a public finance related career, which may include the fields of finance, banking, government, non-profits, or law; and;
6. Complete and submit the following that comprise one (1) complete scholarship application:
-The 2024 TX-WPF Scholarship Application Form
-The TX-WPF Essay Submissions
-Copies of your official academic transcripts that reflect no less than two years of completed course work; a longer academic history is welcomed. All transcripts will only be accepted in PDF format. Acceptable transcripts are as follows:
i. Official Transcripts
ii. Emailed Transcripts from your institution
7. All required documents to be submitted with the scholarship application form (transcripts, essays, etc.) need to be combined into a single (1) PDF and are to be submitted via the form on www.txwpf.com/scholarship-application. Completed applications are due no later than 11:59 P.M., Central Time on Friday, April 19, 2024