The Greater Texas Foundation recently awarded Tarleton State University two $25,000 grants for the establishment of the Generation Proud and the Rising to the Challenge scholarship programs for the 2008-09 school year.

Generation Proud will provide $1,000 scholarships to 25 firstgeneration college students with financial need.

"First-generation students confront a variety of challenges in going to college," said Denise Groves, dean of enrollment management and university registrar. "They are often underprepared academically to succeed at the university level, they lack the family's understanding of pursuing a degree, and they often do not fully realize the impact of a degree on their future and their family's future."

The Rising to the Challenge program will provide scholarships of up to $5,000 to cover the unmet financial needs of students transitioning from Weatherford College to Tarleton.

Tarleton will partner with Weatherford College's Student Support Services program to identify five to 10 students for whom a scholarship will make the difference between ending their education with an associate's or continuing on to Tarleton to obtain a bachelor's.

For more information or for qualifications for the Generation Proud scholarship, contact Brenda Faulkner, director of Tarleton's Student Success program, at (254) 968-9957 or faulkne@ tarleton. edu.