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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

    Guild Scholarship recipients honored

    Guild+Scholarship+recipients+honored

    The Guild Scholarship is awarded to students within the Colleges of Fine Arts and Communication who excel in academics and also have a financial need, said fashion merchandising professor, Sally Fortenberry.

    “We offer a lot of recruitment scholarships for students before they come to TCU,” said the new Special Assistant to the Dean, Jennifer Engler. “However, we give this scholarship to the students that are already in college and are excelling in their major.”

    The Guild began in 1954 under the guidance of the Dean of Fine Arts with the sole purpose to raise money for fine arts scholarships and involve the community in that purpose, said Charlene Newlin, a past president of the guild and now a member of the Friends of the Fine Arts in an email.

    “We loved all that we did for strangers, we didn’t care who they are,” said Sara Jane Murphy a member of the Friends of the Fine Arts Guild, referring to when the group first started. “We just knew they were students that worked hard, practiced hard and were outstanding in their major.”

    The Guild Scholarship Award recipients were honored and had a chance to thank their donors at a luncheon held on Wednesday, April 22 in the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center.

    “These students are really the cream of the crop in Fine Arts and Communication Studies,” said Charlene Smith, a member and assistant to the dean for the Friends of the Fine Arts Guild.

    The scholarship winners were nominated by a teacher within each department.

    Each student that was nominated attended the luncheon with a representative from the department they were awarded from. This representative introduced the student for their accomplishments at TCU. Then each student accepted their award and thanked the faculty and the Friends of the Fine Arts and Communications members for nominating them.

    “I’ve been coming for years to the TCU guild luncheon,” said Murphy. “Seeing these people in different schools of communication, art and dance and knowing how hard they worked is truly rewarding, especially to hear how much they appreciate our little efforts by raising money for them.”

    There were 10 award recipients including:

    Hannah Lynn Paul from the Department of Communication Studies

    Will Forsythe from the Department of Film-Television-Digital Media

    Abigail Maynard from the School of Journalism

    Alexandra Constantinou from the School of Strategic Communication

    Jacob Scovell from the School of Art

    Madison Janke from the School for Classical and Contemporary Dance

    Dan Tran from the Department of Interior Design and Merchandising

    Tyler Creel from the School of Music

    Jonathan Carmichael for the T. Smith McCorkle award

    Macke Louis from the Department of Theatre

    “I was told the faculty nominated me because they said I displayed all the characteristics of the guild award,” said scholarship recipient and first year fashion merchandising and communication studies double major Hannah Paul.

    “I’ve been taking my classes and working hard in them and I’ve gotten “A’s” in all my communication classes,” Paul said.

    Alexandra Constantinou, junior strategic communication major, also maintains a high GPA. She interned at TCU’s ROXO and a downtown Fort Worth art gallery as well.

    “I think the directors nominate students that are a great example of the department and are also involved with the school,” Constantinou said. “I’ve been in communication with our director, Dr. Lambiase, this past year about scholarships. When Dr. Lambiase learned about this scholarship opportunity, she nominated me for it and then I guess the Guilds selected me.”

    The teacher introductions of the students emphasized how remarkable the recipients were.

    “This award is for those students that make our job so delightful,” the representative from the Department of Theatre said while referring to Macke Louis.

    Although the scholarship winners are usually juniors, this year, first year student Hannah Lynn Paul and sophomore Jacob Scovell received scholarships.

    “Obviously they have to be continuing students because the scholarship is for students to continue to stay at TCU,” Fortenberry said. “Typically, they don’t have to be at any necessary level but they are usually juniors going into their senior year.”

    Students such as Scovell and Paul thanked the board for their financial help. Paul said she is paying for school herself so without scholarships such as the Guild Scholarship, she could not afford TCU.

    The amount of money the scholarship is changes each year, said Smith.

    “More money is put into the principle, but only the interest earned is used for the scholarships, and they are divided among the 10 students equally,” Smith said. “Next year, they will be dividing among 11 students,” referring to the Graphic Arts as its own department next year.

    “A student may receive the scholarship more than once,” Smith said. “I’ve seen one student receive it three times already.”

    Guild Scholarship Background

    “The Guild was formed way back when,” said Sara Evans Murphy, a member of the Friends of the Fine Arts. “A group of women formed the guild with a goal to raise money for a scholarship fund for the arts.”

    Charlene Smith became a member of the guild about eight years ago and became president three years ago.

    “Three years ago, after working with the deans, we made the decision to close down the guild and create two separate groups: the Friends of the Fine Arts and the Friends of Communications,” Smith wrote in an email.

    The reason for Smith’s decision was because the guild was diminishing in size and support which was a result of the lack of new and younger members joining.

    “The Deans were very supportive of this move to their departments taking over and getting new members in the two groups,” Smith said.

    Smith’s position the first year after the guild was closed was liaison to the deans as they formed their “Friends” groups.

    “As time goes on, I have become more of an assistant to Dr. Till Meyn and now Jennifer Engler, appointed by Dean Sullivan to supervise the “Friends of Fine Arts” group,” Smith said.

    “The Guild members were never required to be TCU Graduates but some were,” said Newlin in an email. “Some members were really from several communities in the Metroplex. Over the years the guild members numbered over 200 but as time took its toll that number declined.”

    The group meets usually every two months and occasionally has some specific holiday luncheons to raise money for the scholarship endowment fund. Newlin said various programs such as the theatre and music programs are devoted to the scholarship endowment.

    The scholarship is awarded annually with recipients selected by each department, said Newlin. The students selected are usually a talented, high GPA student.

    “The Fine Arts expanded to include Communication in the mid 1980’s,” said Newlin. “Then another realignment took place and the College Communications became their own entity and Communication Sciences & Disorders incorporated the Speech disorders into a separate group. It is no longer represented as a part of the TCU Guild.”

    Next year, the guild will be expanding again to include the new College of Graphic Design.