WACO, TX — The destruction left after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas was record-breaking, and some students at Texas A&M University withdrew from school because of the financial strain it caused.
However, the country of Qatar has stepped in to help.
$1 million grant from the State of Qatar via the Qatar Harvey Fund is available to help Texas A&M System students who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey. More than 500 students attending five Texas A&M System campuses withdrew from school and did not return after Hurricane Harvey swamped the Texas coast in 2017.
The grant money would be available for the Fall 2019 semester and provide a revamped safety net and money for tuition, fees, books, living expenses and even emergency expenses at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Prairie View A&M University, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
Funding for the grant was provided by the State of Qatar through its Qatar Harvey Fund, a $30 million fund established in 2017 for the long-term recovery of southeast Texas.
“Qatar and Texas have many long-standing ties, including a Texas A&M campus in Qatar that has awarded some 900 engineering degrees over more than a dozen years,” said His Excellency Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s Ambassador to the U.S. “When we saw the devastation from Hurricane Harvey, we created the Qatar Harvey Fund to help our friends in Texas recover from the storm."
The funding will be granted through a partnership between the Qatar Harvey Fund and the Rebuild Texas Fund. The Rebuild Texas Fund, a collaborative project of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and the OneStar Foundation, was created to support the rebuilding of Texas communities hit hard by Hurricane Harvey.
John Sharp, Chancellor of the Texas A&M System, said the grant will give deserving students a second chance at their college dreams.
“The Texas A&M University System is very thankful for this grant,” Chancellor Sharp said. “This money will help rebuild the future for hundreds of deserving Texans whose dreams of obtaining a degree were rained on by Harvey,” he said.
ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS
- Either a current student impacted by Hurricane Harvey and enrolled in one of the five included A&M System universities;
- Or, be a student who withdrew from one of these universities as a result of Hurricane Harvey and have not yet reenrolled;
- Or, be a student who was admitted to one of these universities beginning in the Fall of 2017 but did not attend because of Harvey. Students must also have had a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 for undergraduate and 3.0 for graduate and doctoral students, if currently enrolled.
*The applicant must also be able to demonstrate, with data or anecdotally, the effect of Harvey on their financial situation.
To learn more, contact:
- Texas A&M University: Deanna Holder, Financial Aid Advisor. 979-845-3263. dholder@tamu.edu
- Prairie View A&M: Tim Sams, Vice President For Student Affairs. 936-261-2125. tmsams@pvamu.edu
- Texas A&M University at Galveston: Ken Bailey, Director of Career and Ability Services. 409-740-4725. baileyk@tamug.edu
- Texas A&M University-Kingsville: Kirsten Compary, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Student. 361-593-3606. Kirsten.compary@tamuk.edu
- Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi : Kristeen Gonzalez, Student Assistance Coordinator. http://harveyhelp.tamucc.edu/. harveyhelp@tamucc.edu
