Fort Bend Lifestyles and Homes Magazine Jun 2009: TelFairLife Scholarships Awarded to Fort Bend County Students

A future lawyer, nurse and businesswoman are the first three recipients of a new college scholarship program for residents of Telfair, a 2,018-acre community located at U.S. 59 South and University Blvd.

Supriya Aggarwal, Tabish Dhukka and Chiwendu “Carl” Nnaji each won a $2,000 scholarship from TelfairLife, a community service organization created by Newland Communities when Telfair opened in 2006. With education prioritized as one of five cornerstones of TelfairLife, creating a scholarship program for young college-bound residents was a natural, according to Kiva Mann, TelfairLife coordinator.

“We wanted to go beyond supporting our own on-site Cornerstone Elementary School and Fort Bend ISD, ” says Kiva. “With the scholarship program, we can show our commitment to helping Telfair residents further their educations, even as they move away from home and their community for the first time. ”

TelfairLife funds the annual scholarships, which is administered by the nonprofit Fort Bend Education Foundation.

“The foundation provides the expertise and impartial judges to select the winners based on the criteria established by TelfairLife, ” says Kiva. “The most important thing we look for is leadership among these young scholars, because that reflects the leadership role TelfairLife strives to fill

in Telfair and the greater Fort Bend community.”

All of these young scholars just graduated from Sugar Land’s Kempner High School, and each is well-acquainted with leadership.

Carl, who says he likes to lead by example, was active in his school’s Interact Club, which encourages students to volunteer in the community. He also participated in student council and peer tutoring. In sports, he competed in varsity football and track.

Tabish was a news editor for her high school newspaper and was president as well as a state representative for DECA Club, which helps students gain real-life work experience. She was also a board member of Youth Club and a camp counselor.

Supriya has worked on her school’s yearbook staff and was treasurer for NASA Club. In the community, she volunteered with Future Business Leaders of America, Fort Bend International Festival and Girl Scouts.

Each student brims with optimism about career success and helping to make the world a better place.

For Carl—who plans to attend the University of Texas before going on to Emory University—becoming a patent lawyer means to help bring forth new inventions that can improve the quality of life in the world.

“To accomplish my goal of becoming a patent lawyer, I need a solid foundation in the sciences as well as a strong English and history background, ” he says.

Tabish, who says her initial goal of getting a nursing degree may expand to becoming a doctor, hopes to bring more compassion to the medical profession.

“Since almost all patients do not like to be admitted to hospitals, it is very crucial that nurses sway patients attention by engaging them in meaningful conversations, ” says Tabish, who will begin her studies at the University of Houston this fall.

Supriya plans to live at home at home while pursuing a bachelor’s degree—and later a master’s degree in business administration and hotel management at the University of Houston. That plan will not only allow her to help out in her father ’s hotel business, but will allow her to participate in TelfairLife for years to come.

“My dream is to help out in the social and charitable areas of TelfairLife in a remarkably unique way, ” says Supriya, who hopes to use her future business success to support more charitable foundations. “I look forward to a bright future, because in business, the sky is the limit.”