A&M International Student Receives Prestigious Scholarship

A Texas A&M International University student has been selected to receive a prestigious scholarship awarded to outstanding student scholars in the computing field.

TK Sathish Kumar, a graduate student in information systems at the College of Business Administration, was awarded the James A. Herriott Scholarship from the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP). The scholarship, including a $500 award, was presented by Kevin Jetton, executive vice president of AITP, who visited the A&M International campus Sept. 21.

Kumar, a 23-year-old native of Coimbatore, South India, is the fourth College of Business Administration Computer-Based Information Systems student to receive the Herriott Scholarship.

"I feel good about this scholarship. I didn't expect to get this scholarship because a lot of people were applying for it. I am grateful to my family, my professor, and especially my mother, for having supported me throughout my educational career," said Kumar.

Previous recipients have included: Carlos Gil Jr. (1997), Mary Morrison (Fall 1998) and Ying Zhao (Spring, 1998).

Dr. Stephen Lunce, associate professor of information systems, said that the scholarship is a competitive one and that in the past, A&M International students have compared favorably with larger student chapters such as those at Texas A&M Kingsville and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Herriott was a San Antonio Data Processing pioneer who served as both the director of data processing for the San Antonio-based Sommer's drug store chain. He was also data processing instructor at San Antonio College. The scholarship fund was established mainly through the proceeds of the South Texas Computer Show that the San Antonio AITP organizes.

Over the years, various fundraisers and donations have allowed the fund to grow, and the San Antonio chapter of AITP has been able to expand the number of student chapters that it supports with the fund. The fund and its scholarship awards are totally administered by the San Antonio AITP chapter and are awarded to college and university students majoring in Information Systems, Computer-Based Information Systems, Computer Science who are also members of their respective AITP student chapter.

For further information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at 326-2180. University office hours are 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu