May 18, 2018 | UHCL Staff
Over the past four decades, Taylor Lake Village residents and University of Houston-Clear Lake alumni Kathy and Mike Reeves have been investing in their alma mater’s growth by serving the alumni association, hosting donor events, being committed patrons of the arts, and have been instrumental in establishing five endowed scholarships.
The Reeves have been instrumental in creating the UHCL Alumni Association Scholarship Endowment, the Distinguished Alumni Scholarship Endowment, and the Elizabeth Finck Leibfried Arts Initiative Program Endowment. In 2016, the Reeves established their fifth endowment, the Kathy and Mike Reeves Hawk Advantage Scholarship, created to meet the needs of well-qualified, economically disadvantaged freshmen from across UH-Clear Lake’s service region in order to give these students the support to stay the course to graduation and take advantage of all the emerging opportunities that arise from having a college education.
“We are longtime donors to UHCL because we love what we’re working for,” said Mike. “We’re always looking for ways we can help the university.”
Mike said that at first, when he and Kathy were planning their next gift, they had something else in mind. “In 2016, we were almost ready to sign off on another project for the UHCL when (UHCL President Emeritus) Dr. Bill Staples said he’d like to make a suggestion to us,” he said. “Bill explained the Hawk Advantage Scholarship Endowment would be more important to the development of the university. We decided to use the funds this way and use other funds for our other project—a nature boardwalk that will run a path through campus – at a later date.”
Kathy and Mike both share Staples’ vision for the high percentage of youth in the region who face economic hardship. “We want to give them access to higher education,” he said. “It’s an advantage to them and the community. That’s why we chose to use the funds for this scholarship first.”
Kathy said she felt their involvement with the scholarship is like planting a seed. “We’re allowing the student to grow,” she said. “The Hawk Advantage Scholarship gives students the opportunity to complete college. Without our education, we may not have been able to achieve our goals in life. In supporting scholarships like the Hawk Advantage and helping others, the recipients will realize the importance of the help they received and begin to plant their own seeds and open the world to other students.”
Mike said he felt that our democracy would not survive without educated citizens. “As the socio-economic composition of our country changes, we need to reach out to make sure everyone has the opportunity for an education,” he said. “Often, the students who need help most are also the most serious about getting their education. When you reach a level where you’re able to give back to your community, then I believe you should step up. Your community helped you get where you are, so you have to give back.”
“Some students feel they could never begin a college education, much less graduate.” said Kathy. “We want to encourage people to take steps to enroll and graduate from college and offer our help in making these opportunities available. That’s why we give to the university.”
In 2016-17, 40 Hawk Advantage Scholarships were awarded. In 2017-2018, a total of 62 students received the scholarships.
To support the UHCL Here, We Go! campaign, visit www.uhcl.edu/giving/here-we-go-campaign.
