Nacogdoches High School senior Sinh Sinh An is less than a month away from graduation. He’s already been accepted at the University of Texas-Dallas, where he plans on double majoring in computer science and marketing.
And, best of all? Sinh Sinh has been named a Terry Foundation award recipient, a scholarship valued at more than $125,000 that will cover nearly all costs for attending UT-Dallas.
Sinh Sinh’s plans after college will likely land him in the tech field. “I’d like to see where that goes,” he said last week.
Sinh Sinh is the second Terry Foundation winner in three years for NHS. The Terry Foundation funds freshman scholarships at 11 Texas public universities, including UT-Dallas. Howard and Nancy Terry created the foundation, born out of a desire to invest in Texas students. The foundation stresses the four pillars of the Terry Scholarship program: Scholarship, Leadership, Service and Community.
“I’m so proud of Sinh Sinh,” said NHS Principal Stephen Autrey. “He’s an outstanding student and a great contributor at Nacogdoches High School and is indicative of our extremely talented student body. I really can’t wait to see what happens next with him.”
An interest in the tech field led Sinh Sinh to UT-Dallas, which he calls “arguably one of the best tech schools.”
“It’s one of the more successful universities,” Sinh Sinh said.
Sinh Sinh will have some Nac company at UT-Dallas. Last year’s NHS valedictorian and a National Merit Scholar, Nyssa Galatas, attends the school. Another soon-to-be grad also plans on going to UT-Dallas.
To earn the Terry Foundation award, Sinh Sinh completed 20 essays as part of the application process. That work earned him an interview in Houston on March 31 with a Terry Foundation panel.
The format, Sinh Sinh said, included six judges rapid-firing questions at applicants.“It was kind of surreal.”
Sinh Sinh is a Career & Technical Education ambassador at NHS. He’s also a member of Mu Alpha Theta, a mathematics honor society for high school students. Sinh Sinh also is an officer for the Student Response Team in CTE and the marketing officer for the NHS robotics team.