2021-2022 Top Scholarships & Named Scholarships Recipients

The TKE Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of our prestigious 2021-2022 named scholarships and continue our longstanding tradition of recognizing and rewarding academic excellence.

As active members of their chapters, universities and communities, these Tekes have excelled in their pursuit of academic excellence and represent some of the best and brightest young men in TKE Nation.

Please join us in congratulating our 2021-2022 Grand Chapter scholarship recipients. To make a gift supporting chapter and Grand Chapter scholarships, please visit TKE.org/Donate

2021-2022 TKE Foundation Top Scholarship Recipients

JOHN A. COURSON TOP SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
Jake L. Howell
Rho-Rho
Sam Houston State University

“My membership in TKE and other organizations has given me, and continues to give me the necessary skills of being personable and how to talk with others, it has taught me how to time manage, it has taught me how to lead others in a team and in large groups, and it has taught me how to keep myself and others accountable for their actions. All these skills and lessons have helped me throughout my daily life and within my classes which I feel will also help in my career goals of getting into federal law enforcement.”

GREG & CAY WOODSON LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP
Priktish Suntoo
Mu-Theta
Lycoming College

“My membership in TKE has greatly helped throughout my undergraduate career. It enabled me to make a lot of connections and get more involved on and outside campus. By getting involved in the activities of my Fraternity, I also learned about many values such as leadership, philanthropy, community service, commitment, and being able to bring change to the community. Moreover, being an officer of my chapter enabled me to develop my skills as a leader. As the Grammateus, I had to stay very organized, be committed to my work, communicate very well to people, update social media, and be able to manage my time efficiently. I greatly appreciate all the skills and values I have learnt from Tau Kappa Epsilon, and I will always cherish the connections I made and will make in the future.”

LON JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIP
Seth V. Burch
Phi-Alpha
University of Alaska

“Alaska can be an incredibly isolating location, especially when experienced as a college Freshman moving to a new state. I was very let down when I applied to join so many clubs and organizations on campus and was not accepted because they had become dormant during the pandemic. When joining Tau Kappa Epsilon, I met brothers I would not have otherwise encountered and even in my very short time in the Fraternity have developed bonds that I know will last for a very long time. Even beyond the fraternal bonds, the wonderful times, and the get-togethers such as Tekesgiving, Tau Kappa Epsilon has provided the structure and support network that made completing my coursework with a 4.0 GPA much easier and, I believe, possible. I owe my success to the Fraternity, I pledge my continued success to the Fraternity, I love the Fraternity.”

GEORGE P. BUNDY SCHOLARSHIP
Justin T. Barnhard
Tau-Theta
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison

“Membership in Tau Kappa Epsilon has brought me more than I expected and more than I could ever pay back. The countless friendships, experiences, opportunities have truly shaped me into the man I am today. Being able to have a support system that is there with a click of a button and having brothers who you might not even know personally truly care, is something so special and I am grateful every day. Seeing a Fraternity that truly lives on its values every day is one of the main reasons I joined Tau Kappa Epsilon and why I live its values every day, and a big reason to why I am indebted to TKE. I love the Fraternity.”

Honorable Mentions

CHARLES R. WALGREEN, JR. MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Joshua Gallagher
Xi-Iota
University of Central Florida

“I feel that being in this fraternity has greatly prepared me and has given me new soft skills to prepare me fort my future. First off, being the Crysophylos has giving me a great understanding on how to manage a budget. Working with a large budget can be a little intimidating at first, but with practice and help from my fellow Fraters, I was able to accurately maintain and work with the budget. In addition, working to get the chapter house for Xi-Iota was a ton of work. It taught me how to be persistent and work towards my goals. All the other job that I have been granted through this chapter have taught me how to communicate better with others, be empathetic, and also be determined. All of these skills, I believe will become useful when I move into the future. In addition, this organization has helped me connect with people all over, I am a firm believer that having connections can be one of, if not, the biggest factors in getting a job somewhere. I believe that this can greatly help me”

CHARLES R. WALGREEN, JR. LEADERSHIP AWARD
Ibrahim Mokhtar
Beta-Sigma
University of Southern California

“As a low-income, first-generation college student and first generation American raised in Chicago, I was extremely overwhelmed when I began my first year at USC. I was raised by a single mother who immigrated from Sudan the year before I was born and worked tirelessly to provide me with the best opportunities America had to offer, but considering she had never attended school in the United States she couldn’t offer me much guidance as I flew across the country and transitioned to college. I recall distinctly the overwhelming stress I felt during my first week of classes, and to be completely honest, this stress persisted throughout my first year at USC. My second semester at USC I joined the TKE Beta-Sigma chapter and while I never anticipated I would be involved with a Greek organization while I was in high school, I can now look back and say my involvement in TKE changed my life. The guidance that the older brothers gave me during my years as an underclassman prompted me to self-reflect and hold myself to a higher standard than I had been doing since I got to USC. Additionally, my transcript reflects this growth – every semester since the end of my freshman year my GPA has improved, and last semester I earned my first college 4.0. This guidance didn’t only impact my life academically: these older brothers inspired me to take leadership roles in various organizations on campus and in the community; so much so that with the help of our past TKE president, Parker Lansberg, I created and served as the first “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chairman” within our chapter. Furthermore, as I became an upperclassman I continued to pass on this guidance to younger brothers, which has brought about my passion for education and mentorship. As a senior who is on his way out, I reflect on my experience over the last three years and I can say with utmost certainty that my involvement in TKE has prompted me to be the best version of myself, it has provided me with mentorship that is invaluable, and all of these experiences that I have had will be carried with me for the rest of my life.”

RONALD REAGAN LEADERSHIP AWARD
Henry Lin
Xi
Washington University

“Looking back on my four years at college at this current time, I think joining TKE might have been the best decision I’ve ever made. I think that many of my best friends are ones I’ve made in TKE. Not only that, but the people in my life who encourage me to be my best are certainly my brothers in Tau Kappa Epsilon. I remember clearly not having the motivation to do almost anything during quarantine— just sort of languishing around under the pretense that “there’s a pandemic. I can’t do anything.” One of the brothers who already graduated but lived nearby at the time asked me to go work out with him. At that point my body was something I was always pretty conscious about: I was rather chubby ever since I was little, and I never really outgrew that body shape. We would work out together along with some of his other friends who wanted to get fitter, and we spent pretty much most of the summer going to the gym together, eating out, or cooking together, the latter which I’ve always been passionate about. As of now, I’ve kept working out as a consistent part of my schedule at this point, and some members of my pledge class hold each other accountable to go and we go together whenever we have time outside of classes or other activities. On another level, I think my membership in Tau Kappa Epsilon has been one of the most emotionally healthy things to have happened in my time on campus. To be frank, I don’t know if it would be possible for me to confidently take the path I am currently taking if I didn’t have other members of TKE telling me that they believed in me, and the work I have already done. What’s really special about my experience with TKE is that we weren’t really ever afraid of showing weaknesses to each other, and that has helped us become all the more stronger— together and as individuals. ”

Named Scholarship Recipients

To make a gift supporting chapter and Grand Chapter scholarships, please visit TKE.org/Donate.