Texas A&M

What We Do

University of Texas

The Finis Welch Foundation was established in 2012 to provide college scholarships to high achieving Texas students who can demonstrate financial need. The foundation reflects Finis’ lifelong commitment to education.

Our Mission Statement

The mission of the Finis Welch Foundation is to enhance the quality of life through education. The Foundation seeks to recognize and support individuals enrolled or enrolling in educational institutions.

Currently the Finis Welch Foundation works with partnering universities to help locate and select Welch Scholars. The program began in the fall of 2011 with three students enrolled at Texas A&M University and has modestly grown over the years. The University of Texas at Austin was added to the Welch Scholar program in the fall of 2024. In the fall of 2024, the program grew to granting 43 new scholarships, bringing the current active Scholar count to 64. As of this fall, the Finis Welch Foundation has provided over $3,400,000.00 in scholarships since its inception. The Welch Scholars program provides a set amount of funding each year that goes directly to the students. The amount provided covers tuition along with living and school expenses so that each Scholar can concentrate on their studies.

With the passing of the sole benefactor in 2020, the Foundation is tasked to aggressively grow the program in terms of the number of Welch scholarships awarded each year and if needed, add new partnering universities. The goal of the Foundation is to bring the total number of continuous scholarships to 250 within the next five years.

With the high standards of academic achievement ingrained in the Welch Scholar program, there is no questioning the intellect of Scholars but there is more to be considered when producing a viable candidate to the workforce upon completion of an academic degree. For this reason, the Foundation is also focused on helping Scholars with non-academic resources. Some of these resources include etiquette training, career center seminars, resume writing tips, additional advising services, job shadow opportunities, and much more.

BigShots Finis Welch group picture

Lara Anderson

Marco Peredo

Emily DeGraaff

I am one of the recipients of the generous Finis Welch Scholarship. I wanted to reach out in order to offer even a small token of appreciation for the funding. I consider myself quite blessed to receive the scholarship as I know countless others face the stress of paying for college. Not having to worry about whether or not my education will be a financial burden for my parents is beyond relieving and a mere thank you is the least I could do. I am so ecstatic to attend A&M in the Fall as I have received nothing less than kindness from every student and staff member thus far. Once again I’d like to offer a huge thank you for the donation on behalf of the late Dr. Welch.

I just wanted to say thank you so so much. I am so incredibly honored to have been considered and chosen for your amazing scholarship. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you so much for your investment into my education at Texas A&M University. Not only will your scholarship help fund my basic college fees, I will also be able to use your scholarship to afford housing, food, textbooks and essentially anything I could possibly need to be successful in my undergraduate career.

Thanks to your scholarship I am able to continue my education at the best school in Texas! I would not be able to be where I am without your support & I hope that in my future I am able to support other future students as you have supported me. Thanks & Gig’em

Dr. Welch is the reason why I have been lucky enough to call myself an aggie for the past three years.

This scholarship has allowed me to really make the most of my time here at TAMU and join organizations and clubs that will further my career. Dr. Welch led a great life and left behind a lasting legacy.

I am honored to be a recipient of this year’s Finis Welch Scholarship. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my deepest gratitude for awarding me with the Finis Welch Scholarship. This generous contribution has allowed me to pursue my goal of becoming an engineer at my dream college.

By awarding me with the Finis Welch Scholarship, I have been able to focus solely on my education rather than the financial burden that comes along with it. The generosity shown to me has inspired me to make an everlasting impact on another person’s life. I hope one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals just as you have helped me.

Once again, I am beyond grateful for this amazing opportunity. Without this once in a lifetime opportunity, I wouldn’t be able pursue my lifelong goals. Thank you for turning my dreams into a reality!

The generosity and hospitality that Dr. Welch has shown me has not only affected the superficial issues of my college financing, but has also permeated into my mindset, my goals, and my emotional well being. His generosity has led me to take every moment I am here at TAMU in absolute gratitude. It has made me want to do the same to change the life of someone with aspirations and potential in such a positive way. I have a new found appreciation for hard work and perseverance. I take all of these experiences with more gratitude and appreciation because without his generous actions, I would have never found the friends I have now or experienced these irreplaceable moments of my college career. Now, as I approach the end of my undergraduate career and begin my journey into the future, I gain a greater confidence in me and a renewed vigor to push onwards. Because he believe in me before I even knew myself. And now, I can believe in me, just like he did. Thank you for everything, Dr. Welch.

Thank you for the support you have shown me and others throughout our Aggie careers. In the future, I hope to find myself in the position to help new Aggies achieve their goals as Dr. Welch was able to help me.

I truly can’t expect this letter to express the gratitude I have for your contribution to my education and future. I would like to start off by explaining what this scholarship really means to me. My parents wouldn’t be able to send me, or any of my seven siblings to college. If it weren’t for your generosity I would be at home, sharing a room with my little brother, most likely working two jobs, as I did this summer just to help my family. I know they’re struggling, my father has been unemployed for a couple of months, but if I can get my education I will be able to help. So your investment isn’t solely in me, it’s in my family and my community. I have big plans, and this scholarship makes them a reality.

Thanks to this scholarship, I was granted the opportunity to be a proud first-generation Aggie today, following my dreams of becoming an Aerospace Engineer and follow my passions in space travel and exploration. It is truly a blessing and an absolute miracle in my parent’s eyes to be here at Texas A&M University, testing my mettle and truly achieving progress towards finding success in life. Seriously, thank you so much for creating for giving me the gift of an education! Though as thankful as I am, I could not be more, not by a long shot, than my parents. In behalf of them, thank you so much again! I have honestly never felt so blessed in my life, so it is kind of hard to me to gauge how many times I should write thank you in this letter to feel like I got my feelings across. Thanks(again) and gig em’!

It has been over a year since I learned that I would be awarded this scholarship, and I cannot express how much of a positive impact it has had on my life both at Texas A&M and back home in east Texas. The fact that I am able to come to school with such financial stability is an incredible opportunity, and I have been using it to my full advantage. I don’t know how I could possibly put into words the gratitude I feel towards you for this scholarship. It truly is the best thing that could have happened to me in my time before coming to A&M, and you have made my experience here so far not only that much easier but also that much more enjoyable. I cannot wait to see what the remainder of this year and the remained of my undergraduate work has in store for me. I know that no matter what it is, it will be an incredible experience. I have you to thank for a great part of making all it possible for me.