Student Spotlight – Stevi Breshears

by Stefanie Carruth
Published April 19, 2018

Empowered by scholarships courtesy of the AC Foundation, Stevi Breshears has not only persevered at Amarillo College, she has positively thrived.

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A general studies major who will graduate this May, Stevi was admittedly something of a spectator when she first enrolled at AC. “I was not very involved at first,” she said. “I would go to class and then just go home or to work.”

 

But Stevi has long since made the transition from bystander to leader – and even from homebody to international scholar.

 

“The scholarship opportunities I’ve been given here at Amarillo College have definitely changed my life,” the graduate of Tascosa High School said.

 

“I come from single-parent household, so money has always been tight,” she said. “Without financial aid and scholarships, I would not be at AC at all.”

 

Stevi has been the recipient of National Honor Society and Regents Circle scholarships, as well as a Don Powell Honors Scholarship and an Honors Program Scholarship. The dividends she has reaped are many.
 

Encouraged by the Foundation’s support, Stevi emerged from her shell. She decided to dabble in the study of mass communications and swiftly ascended to editorship of AC’s student newspaper, the Ranger.

 

She also applied belatedly for inclusion in AC’s Presidential Scholars program. Not only was the former high school scholar accepted, she took part earlier this year in the Scholars’ service-learning sojourn to the Dominican Republic.

 

“It was an incredible experience,” she said of the Scholars’ week-long stay in a rural fishing town, where they helped teach English at an elementary school. “It was not a touristy trip at all. We saw the beauty of the country, yes, but it was really a chance to get to know the people and experience their culture – so rewarding.”
 

Stevi is no stranger to hard work: she puts in 20-plus hours a week at Southerland’s Lumber Company, and she commits plenty of additional hours to her role as editor of the Ranger, yet she continues to excel academically at AC.

 

For Stevi Breshears, Success Is Amarillo College!