HIGHLAND LAKES HELPERS: Burnet P.E.O chapter funds futures of young women
On hand to hear 2021 Burnet High School graduate Teagen Tappe (center) speak at the 92nd Convention of Texas State Chapter P.E.O. last month in Austin were P.E.O. JP Burnet chapter members Francine Carraro (left), Cheryl Henderson, Debbie Smith, Penny Brydson, and Jimmie Sue McKeller. Courtesy photo
This commencement season, one Burnet High School graduate walked out onto a different stage to talk about how scholarships, including one from the Philanthropic Educational Organization’s Burnet chapter, helped make college possible for her. Teagen Tappe shared her story at the 92nd Convention of Texas State Chapter P.E.O. last month in Austin and with The Picayune Magazine.
“That scholarship got me through the first two years of college without loans,” said the 2021 high school graduate. “College is expensive, and this alleviated a lot of the financial stress. I had to rely on my scholarships.”
The P.E.O. Sisterhood is an international philanthropic organization with 600 chapters in North America, 250 in Texas. Four of those are in the Highland Lakes. For its entire 155-year history, the organization has been primarily focused on helping women pursue higher education.
Tappe was awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the P.E.O. Sisterhood International. Chapter JP Burnet, which includes Buchanan Dam, recommended her but has no influence over which of the hundreds of applicants receive scholarships.
A first-generation college student, Tappe used the money to attend Texas A&M University in Galveston, where she’s working toward a coastal environmental science and society degree with a minor in marine fishery. She also works with the Galveston Bay Foundation to teach kids in grades K-12 about coastal conservation.
“I’m an environmental educator,” Tappe said. “We teach kids the importance of conservation and the environment, but not in the classroom, in the field.”
She plans to go full time into environmental education when she graduates.
Tappe was tapped for the scholarship because of her volunteer involvement in groups like Rotaract, a Rotary International Club for people ages 18 to 34. She started a Rotaract group in Galveston when she moved there for school.
“Coming to Galveston was a little bit of a culture shock,” Tappe said. “It was different than the small-town environment I grew up in, but I created a sense of community through Rotary and Rotaract.”
Galveston also opened up a new world of volunteer opportunities.
“Being able to go to Galveston allowed me to be able to work with different groups of people,” she said. “I am able to work with all these groups to help my peers grow with a sense of community service and outreach.”
It was that kind of thinking that caught the attention of Burnet P.E.O. Chapter STAR Scholarship Committee Chair Penny Brydson and chapter Vice President Cheryl Henderson.
“Teagen definitely fits what P.E.O. is all about,” Henderson said. “She has the heart of a servant.”
As part of a P.E.O. Chapter Challenge, Henderson sent The Picayune Magazine a story about Tappe this spring. She also sent it to the state chapter president, who read the article and decided Tappe was the perfect choice to speak about P.E.O.’s STAR Scholarship program at the annual luncheon on May 11. Speakers are chosen each year to report on a variety of the nonprofit’s education programs.
Other programs include scholarships for continuing education grants for women wanting to return to school, money for women in other countries to study in the United States or Canada, and a loan fund for qualified women students. P.E.O. also has a liberal arts and sciences college for women, Cottey College, in Nevada, Missouri. Local chapters raise money to send to all of these programs, including the P.E.O. Fellowship.
The Burnet chapter has been participating in the STAR scholarship program for five years, raising money for students to pursue their dreams of higher education.
Officials at Burnet High School choose possible applicants. P.E.O. STAR committee members meet with the young women before making a final decision. Interviews are conducted in the fall, and the decision is announced by the P.E.O. Sisterhood in April.
“It means a lot to me because I’m going to be able to graduate with low debt and go into a career without having to worry about student loans,” Tappe said. “That can be overwhelming.”