CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2024 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS!

Congratulations to the 2024 recipients of ASF’s Student Athlete Scholarships! This year, our community raised $10,000 and we awarded scholarships to five incredible student athletes. 

We are always extremely impressed with the students who apply. This year’s group represent high schools all over Austin, and play a variety of sports from football and soccer to swimming, fencing and dressage. We asked them to write about how athletics has helped them overcome a challenge, and we read so many thoughtful and forward-thinking essays. The themes that stood out this year are the value of learning from failure, the importance of progress over perfection, and how much pure joy can come from playing a sport. Their personal responses speak to real concern for the planet and their fellow humans, and a strong desire to good in the world. Their passion energizes and inspires us!

While it was tough to choose from such an impressive group, we are pleased to announce this year’s winners: Sana Brower, Jessica Greenway, Levi Langley, Paulete Mbuangi and Ingrid Smith. These hard-working student athletes have a lot of passion and drive to make the most of their college years and beyond. We know they are going to do great things!

Congratulations to the 2024 scholarship recipients!

 

Sana Brower 
Crockett Early College High School

Sport: Tennis

What are your interests outside of sports? I am deeply passionate about my hobbies and transfer them to my extracurriculars and future studies. I love scrapbooking and use various photos, color schemes, and layouts to create a final product. At school, I work in a similar activity and am the Yearbook editor. I also love crocheting and have made clothing, accessories, and plushies. At school, I have used my crocheting abilities in my engineering class and added functional components to various projects. I also started the Crochet Club and meet amongst my peers to teach others how to crochet, work on projects, and try out different patterns.

What do you aspire to be? I would like to be an Environmental Engineer with a focus on sustainable buildings.

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Jessica Greenway
L.C. Anderson High School

Sport: Soccer 

What are your interests outside of sports? I am very passionate about community service. I am Key Club Treasurer, Student Council Senior Vice President and an national honor society officer. This past summer I had the opportunity to intern on the border between Arizona and Mexico in Agua Prieta. There I planned my own lessons to teach children English, while also volunteering in a resource migrant center. I spent 5 weeks on my own immersing myself into the culture and increased the passion I have had of helping others.

What do you aspire to be? I want to be a criminal defense lawyer.

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Levi Langley 
L.C. Anderson High School

Sports: Track & field, volleyball 

What are your interests outside of sports? I am most passionate about advocacy work. More specifically, I have spent a lot of my time in high school working for the youth-led gun violence prevention organization March For Our Lives. I am also extremely passionate about women’s sports, and hope to use a collegiate track career to my advantage in my efforts to try and grow the women’s game. I would like to work with female athletes on ACL research, inclusion at the ground and media levels, and change administration of the organizations that control female athletes. 

What do you aspire to be? I aspire to be a public service and environmental lawyer. I want to get on the inside of law so that I can really change it. I do have a creative side, however, as I would like to pursue writing, film, or music at some point.

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Paulete Mbuangi 
Navarro Early College High School

Sport: Basketball 

What are your interests outside of sports? Playing instruments like guitar. And also having debates with friends to expand my knowledge.

What do you aspire to be? An immigration lawyer. As an immigration lawyer and an immigrant, I aspire to advocate for those whose voices often go unheard, drawing from my personal experience of feeling overlooked. My goal is to foster relatability and to offer legal assistance to individuals navigating the complex immigration system, promoting inclusivity, and contributing to the well-being of my community.

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Ingrid Smith 
McCallum High School

Sport: Varsity Golf (Co-captain)

What are your interests outside of sports? I am co-editor-in-chief of the McCallum newspaper, and I love writing and reporting. I am interested in sports journalism, particularly player interviews and game photography, and I would love to cover professional golf in the future. I have also played violin for 11 years and am a leader in my school orchestra. I created and lead a fiddle group for Austin-area middle and high school students where I organize and teach music and choreography. Lastly, I participate in a lot of volunteer work. I am co-president of Teen Ambassadors of Hope, an organization that works closely with Texas Advocacy Project to end dating violence, sexual assault, domestic abuse and stalking in the state of Texas through free legal and social services.

What do you aspire to be? By studying journalism and pursuing a certificate in integrated marketing and communications, I hope to become a communications director or work in PR for a nonprofit. I also hope to be a journalist in the area of sports and multimedia. No matter where I end up in the communications field, I believe golf will remain an important part of my life both personally and professionally.