The Texas Wildlife Association Foundation (TWAF) and the San Antonio Livestock Exposition, Inc. (SALE) have awarded four $10,000 Natural Resource-Excellence in Education Scholarships to four deserving Texas youth. The scholarships were awarded to four freshmen at Texas universities who are majoring in natural resource related field such as agricultural science, wildlife science, forestry, range science, etc.

Scholarships were awarded to Sarah Coffey of New Braunfels (Texas A&M University); Brenda Gibson of Bend (Tarleton State University); Josh Watson of Jayton (Angelo State University); and Annie Wolf of Byers (Texas Tech University). Each will receive a $10,000 scholarship.

“As our population has grown, the strain on our natural resources has grown proportionately,” said TWAF President Charles Davidson. “Our future depends on our ability to manage our natural resources wisely, balancing the needs of man and nature. It just makes sense to identify our future leaders and support them while they are getting their educations. We all will benefit from their expertise in the years to come.”

This is the second time that TWAF and SALE have teamed up to offer scholarships to future natural resource professionals. Last year, the organizations provided two $10,000 statewide awards. The program was expanded because of the overwhelming response.

“Last year, we were gratified by not only the number of applications, but by the high quality,” Davidson said. “There are a lot of talented young people who are committed to caring for our natural resources. TWAF and SALE are dedicated to supporting their efforts, so we doubled the number of Natural Resource-Excellence in Education Scholarships available this year.”

The scholarships were awarded based on overall quality and on essay responses to a series of natural resource questions.