HOUSTON — Espyn Burks thought her dream of going to Texas A&M had been crushed by Hurricanes Ike and Harvey.
The Orange, Texas native was a little girl when Ike roared ashore in 2008.
“The hurricane hit and we evacuated and it completely destroyed our house,” she said.
A month before that, Espyn and her little sister had been told their parents were divorcing. Both are teachers and they couldn’t afford to repair the flooded home, so it was a total loss.
“Me, my mom and my little sister shared a one-bedroom apartment for a really long time,” Espyn said.
By 2017, things were finally looking up and her mom had saved enough money to buy a new home. But a week after closing, Hurricane Harvey flooded it.
This time, Espyn’s mom had to use her daughter’s college fund to repair the home.
A friend later told Espyn about the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s scholarships so she applied.
She was going through emails late one night and almost deleted the one delivering the news that she’d been awarded a $20,000 RodeoHouston scholarship. She couldn’t wait to tell her mom.
“Of course, we were excited and we were freaking out and at the same time we were just kind of stunned,” Espyn said. “We couldn’t believe that I’ve been blessed with this because, with everything that’s been happening, it was good to get some good news.”
Espyn plans to become an Aggie in the fall and will major in communications.
“Before, I didn’t even think I would be able to go to A&M, I didn’t have the money,” Espyn said. “This is actually giving me the opportunity to go up there and chase my dreams.”
And she’s not the only one. This year, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will give out $26.7 million in scholarships.
