1. PRESS RELEASE
For release: 7/22/15
Contact: Kate Johanns, TPEA Marketing & Communications Director
kjohanns@tpea.org
W: (512) 476-2691
C: (512) 922-6214
Texas Public Employees Association announces 2015 scholarship recipients
Scholarships will assist state employees’ children in furthering their education
AUSTIN, TEXAS—The Texas Public Employees Association (TPEA), a nonunion, nonpartisan membership
association for state employees and retirees, announced its 2015 scholarship recipients July 18 at the 2015 TPEA
Awards Luncheon. TPEA’s scholarship programs assist outstanding state employees and their dependents in
furthering their education.
The Liberty Mutual Insurance/TPEA Scholarship ($500) is awarded based on special skills, scholarship abilities,
community service and future employment needs. Members of TPEA, their spouses and their dependents are
eligible for the award. The 2015 recipient is Mary Ellis, daughter of Texas Department of Transportation
employee James Ellis. This fall, Mary Ellis will be a freshman at Texas A&M University, where she plans to study
biomedical science. A graduate of Victoria West High School in Victoria ISD, Mary Ellis served as president of
National Honor Society and received the VISD Academic Excellence Award.
Two Carla Miller Memorial Scholarships ($1,000 each) will be awarded. This scholarship is named for the late
Carla Miller, a retired TxDOT employee and the wife of TPEA board member Ted Miller, also a retired TxDOT
employee. When she passed away in May 2014, her family and friends made donations to the scholarship fund
in lieu of flowers. Graduating high school seniors whose parents, grandparents or guardians are TPEA members
were eligible for the Carla Miller scholarships. The recipients are:
 Aspen Fisher, a graduate of Jacksonville High School. This fall, she will be a freshman at the University
of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where she will study exercise science (pre-physical therapy) with a minor in
business. She is the daughter of TxDOT employee Carlton Fisher. Aspen Fisher has volunteered in the
special needs ministry at Jacksonville’s Central Baptist Church and in the nursery at Woodland Heights
Baptist Church. During high school, she played the flute in the Jacksonville High School Fighting Indian
Band and was a member of the Cherokee Charmer Drill Team.
 Jacob Sanchez, a graduate of Corpus Christi ISD’s Harold T. Branch Academy for Career and Technical
Education. Sanchez is the valedictorian of the Branch Academy’s first graduating class. A dual-credit
student, Sanchez will continue his studies in computer science at Del Mar College. During high school,
Sanchez completed a seven-month IT internship and helped found the Branch Academy student council
and National Technical Honor Society chapter. He is the son of Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
employee Elizabeth Rodriguez.
About the Texas Public Employees Association
Founded in 1946, the Texas Public Employees Association is the oldest and largest legislative advocacy
organization for Texas state employees. The nonunion, nonpartisan membership association has 15,000 active
and retired state employee members across the state.
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