2026 Stephany June Bryan Bold Spirit of Achievement Scholarships

The Hogg Foundation has awarded 11 Bold Spirit of Achievement Scholarships of $5000 each in honor of former senior program officer and consumer and family liaison at the foundation, Stephany June Bryan (1956-2021).

These scholarships provide financial support to individuals facing personal and financial barriers to achieving their educational or career goals due to the impact of living with a mental health challenge and/or supporting a loved one with a mental health challenge.

Stephany dedicated more than two decades of her career, including more than 12 years at the Hogg Foundation, to improving services and supports for individuals and families affected by mental health challenges. The Bold Spirit of Achievement Scholarships were established in 2022 to honor Stephany and her work.

Despite enrolling at Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas State University) as a young adult with a scholarship to study music, life circumstances, including caring for loved ones living with mental health challenges and managing her own illness and recovery, prevented Stephany from completing her degree and graduating.

By helping others who face similar personal and financial barriers to achieving their educational and career goals, this scholarship pays tribute to Stephany’s lifelong commitment to supporting individuals and families impacted by mental health challenges.

The 2026 recipients are:

Stephen Alvarez

Texas Tech University

“This scholarship would move my dream of finishing my degree and becoming a teacher much closer to becoming a reality.

Graham Christopher

Texas State University

“This scholarship will allow me to pay for most of my college tuition for fall of 2026, cut down my work hours, and focus entirely on my personal well-being, time with family, academic success, and gaining necessary professional experience.”

Shemica Conkrite

Houston City College

Ciara Garcia

Texas A&M University

“I understand how isolating trauma, mental health challenges, and financial hardships can feel. I hope to use both my lived and professional experience to help others feel supported, empowered, and seen.”

Martha Lujan

UT Center for Resilient Communities

“This scholarship represents more than money. It represents validation. It would allow me to keep building something meaningful from my lived experience, like the nonprofit I founded, Beyond Barriers of Central Texas, to support others like me who’ve been told to stay quiet, and to continue healing while helping others do the same.”

Ta’Kisha Moore

Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate
School – Online

“Stephany June Bryan’s legacy of elevating lived experience reflects my own goals: to transform adversity into purpose and contribute meaningfully to a more compassionate substance use and mental health system.”

Destiny Richardson

Eastern Kentucky University – Online

Dylan Robinson

The University of Texas at Austin

“Having started and now completed my first year of the Master of Social Work program at The University of Texas, I have kept an enduring goal: to become a therapist and researcher specializing in the treatment of severe mental illness.”

Palvisha Shoaib

The University of Texas at Arlington

“Receiving this scholarship feels like someone is in my corner. It feels like someone sees the work I have put in to get here and believes I can keep going.”

Nesibe Selma Tiryakioğlu

St. Edwards University

“This scholarship will allow me to continue my neuropsychology studies and explore the effects of mental health on the mind and body, examining how psychosocial stressors compound mental and medical trauma. I’m eager to become the kind of clinician and researcher who can serve people the systems failed to reach.”

Jack Michael Weir III