Wichita High School East has a new Wichita State University scholar; Truc Nguyen was recently named the Linwood Sexton Scholarship recipient for the 2018-2019 academic year.

The four-year, full-ride scholarship provides tuition and fees, on-campus housing, and a book stipend that has opened the door for Nguyen to be involved with on campus extracurricular activities while obtaining her college education.

“She quickly impressed me with her attention to detail on even just regular assignments and really flourished when it came to demonstrating creativity on class projects,” said Nguyen’s business teacher/DECA advisor.

A student leader

During her time at East High, Nguyen participated in DECA, Marketing Applications and is a member of the East High management team. She also participates in other school activities such as the annual multicultural assembly, where she leads a team of students to perform a traditional dance.

Truc, the name given to her by her father, means bamboo in Vietnamese. Bamboo signifies strength and her father wanted to make sure that she knew, at a young age, how strong she would be.

Nguyen plans on utilizing her strength and determination by getting involved in organizations such as Student Ambassador Society, Greek Life and a few others here at Wichita State.
She looks forward to attending Wichita State in the fall and plans to major in business.

Scholarship history

The Linwood Sexton Scholarship was established in 2000 to honor its namesake, Linwood Sexton.

Sexton, a Wichita State legend in football, is a member of the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame and Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. An tireless advocate for equal opportunity and social justice, he has been honored with many awards for his efforts to promote understanding and respect among people of different racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Incoming freshmen applicants must have a minimum 3.00 grade point average and demonstrate financial need. All students are eligible to apply but preference is given to minority students majoring in business or education.

The scholarship is automatically renewed as long as the recipient maintains satisfactory academic progress. The application review process is completed by Sexton and staff representatives from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and Undergraduate Admissions, as well as faculty and staff from the W. Frank Barton School of Business and the College of Education.

Each applicant is required to submit various scholarship materials, including a one-page essay on leadership and why he or she should be the recipient of the award. Finalists are invited for an interview with the scholarship committee. 

The mission of Wichita State University is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master’s and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State’s Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university’s vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.