About the Scholarship
How It Works
Each year, 4% of the TMS endowment fund is awarded as a scholarship to a very deserving student selected by NC State University. To be eligible for the renewable scholarship, the student must have a parent who has or had cancer, and must be in the College of Management or College of Engineering. In the event that the cancer condition is not met, the scholarship will be awarded to a student with financial need in one of the two colleges. NC State University's minimum endowment has already been met; from here, all donations help grow the amount of the annual scholarship awarded! The scholarship currently pays for approximately one semester's tuition and is renewable annually.
How It All Began
Alyssa Starnes and Kyle Bowker were married in May 2016. In lieu of a wedding registry, the couple created an endowment fund at their alma mater NC State in memory of Alyssa's mother, Therese Marie Starnes. The minimum endowment was funded within one year of the couple's nuptials thanks to very generous friends, family, and anonymous donors!
Why A Scholarship
Kyle and Alyssa are grateful for life's blessings: love, health, family, and friends. Long before they were engaged, Kyle and Alyssa knew they would use their gift registry to donate to a charity. Soon it became apparent that the couple ultimately wanted to remember Alyssa's late mother, Therese, in some way. Kyle recalled it was important to Therese that Alyssa attended NC State. With this in mind, Kyle suggested a scholarship to commemorate the woman who had lived such a generous life.
In order to keep Therese's memory alive and impact more students, the scholarship will be part of the NC State endowment and will continue to be awarded every year indefinitely. The couple decided the scholarship should be awarded to an NC State student who had been in a similar situation to Alyssa growing up. Kyle and Alyssa also wanted to give a nod to the degrees which have given them so many opportunities after graduation. The couple is confident NC State will award the scholarship to a worthy student annually. They look forward to meeting the students impacted and hearing their stories while telling them about Therese.