Culture & Society

Bellaire Couple’s Texas A&M Scholarship Will Help Low-Income Students

Nolan A. O’Neal and his wife, Denise, have established an endowed scholarship for Aggies who will become the first members of their families to earn college degrees.
By Mary Vinnedge, Texas A&M Foundation November 1, 2010

Texas A&M University graduate Nolan A. O’Neal and his wife, Denise, have established a $100,000 endowed scholarship for Aggies who will become the first members of their families to earn college degrees.

The Bellaire couple’s Regents’ Scholarship “honors our parents and those who opened the doors of a university degree for them despite the challenges of economic collapse and war,” said Nolan O’Neal, who received his civil engineering degree in 1982. “I had several academic scholarships at A&M that made a huge difference in encouraging me to pursue my best and serve others through my profession. Being able to meet some of the individual donors let me know how important it was to them to share their passion for education and the values of Texas A&M.”

Endowed Regents’ Scholarships, which are created through the Texas A&M Foundation, give financial assistance to Aggies whose parents do not have college degrees. Regents’ scholars must live on campus their freshman year and participate in one of Texas A&M’s learning communities, which provide academic support to the students. In addition, the O’Neal scholarship gives a preference for students who graduate in the top 5 percent of their high school class.

The O’Neals will fund their scholarship — established in March 2010 — over a five-year period with $100,000 in cash, securities and matching funds from their employer, ExxonMobil. Through its foundation, ExxonMobil matches employee contributions 3-to-1.

Nolan O’Neal is from a three-generation Aggie family that includes his brother Ron, Class of 1977. Their sister Rebecca O’Neal graduated the same day in 1975 as their dad, retired Army Maj. Nolan O’Neal, who had worked on his degree throughout his 30-year military career. In addition, Denise and Nolan O’Neal’s daughter, Julie O’Neal, holds a Texas A&M degree.

The O’Neal gift supports the Texas A&M Foundation’s Operation Spirit and Mind initiative that has a goal of raising $300 million in scholarships and fellowships. The Texas A&M Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that has been soliciting, receiving and managing funds for Texas A&M academics since 1953. Operation Spirit and Mind, which launched Jan. 1, 2007, had raised more than $223 million as of Sept. 30, 2010.

Since 1983, Nolan and Denise O’Neal have supported Texas A&M programs such as the 12th Man Foundation and The Association of Former Students, including membership in its Endowed Century Club.

“Through our Regents’ Scholarship, we hope to see someone who has the capability to succeed at Texas A&M University — but is short in resources — experience the joy and benefits of being an Aggie,” he said.

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