All banquets will take place from 6:30pm to 8:00pm CST.
| WEEK 1 |
| Monday, October 12th – 2020 Scholars (Traditional Scholar Freshmen) |
| Tuesday, October 13th – 2020 Scholars (Traditional Scholar Freshmen) |
| WEEK 2 |
| Monday, October 19th – 2019 Scholars (Traditional Scholar Sophomores + Transfers) |
| Tuesday, October 20th – 2019 Scholars (Traditional Scholar Sophomores + Transfers) |
| Wednesday, October 21st – 2018 Scholars (Traditional Scholar Juniors + Transfers) |
| Thursday, October 22nd – 2018 Scholars (Traditional Scholar Juniors + Transfers) |
| WEEK 3 |
| Monday, October 26th – 2017 or earlier Scholars (Traditional Scholar Seniors + Transfers) |
| Tuesday, October 27th – 2017 or earlier Scholars (Traditional Scholar Seniors + Transfers) |
All potential speakers must present a speech proposal to the Foundation when they complete the signup form.
All speech proposals must contain the following:
– File saved with your first name and last name in the title (Microsoft Word Document or PDF)
– Your name, Terry school, and Terry year at the top of the page
– A brief paragraph or outline of your speech’s main idea and why you chose your topic
Your speech does not have to be completely finalized by the time you complete the sign-up form. The Foundation just needs a clear idea of what you would share at the banquet. If you are selected as a speaker, a Foundation representative will follow-up with you to confirm the specific details of your speech.
General
How are you making an impact on the world? Do you have a personal cause or initiative that you support?
Do you have a unique profession? How did you know that this was the field for you?
Do you have stories to share about your profession? What was the path from undergrad to your current role? What has helped you along way? Do you have stories or advice from your development as a professional?
What is a hardship you faced during college and how did you overcome it?
Is your career path or profession different from what you thought it would be as an undergraduate student? What caused this shift, and do you have any advice for students who may be in a similar situation?
Do you have a memory about the Mr. and Mrs. Terry or a story about an interaction you had with them? How did they influence the way you have developed as a professional or as a person in general?
How did the Terry Foundation scholarship impact your future beyond graduation?
Do you have a story of resilience or a lesson learned from the events of 2020?
Example Topics for Freshmen
Looking back, what do you wish you’d known about college as a freshman?
Did you face a challenge adjusting to college? How did you overcome it?
Example Topics for Sophomores & Juniors
Do you have a significant memory from your sophomore year/ 2nd year at a 4-year university?
Do you have advice for adjusting your plan after completing at least a year at a large university?
For many people, sophomore and junior year come with pressure of solidifying your timeline and making changes to previous plans. What was this like for you? Any advice?
Example Topics for Seniors
Seniors are getting ready to say goodbye to college and embark on a new journey. What do you wish someone had told you about your senior year of college?
Not everyone has a clear path or plan yet during the fall of their senior year. Do you have words of wisdom for any seniors who may be experiencing this?
Program Updates
In spring and summer 2020, the Foundation announced the official cancellation of the Terry Transfer Scholarship Program and the termination of funding for NEW Terry Scholarships at Texas A&M Galveston and Sam Houston State University. These decisions do not affect the funding for any current Terry Scholars, but speakers should keep these recent changes in mind when making their remarks during the banquets.
Banquet Format
The banquets for 2020 Terry Scholars will only consist of incoming freshmen, but all other banquets will host a mix of Traditional and Transfer Terry Scholars. While the cohort year will align with the classification of most Traditional Scholars (e.g. 2019 = sophomores), the Transfer Scholars at your banquet will likely be a mix of juniors and seniors.
Campus Communities
It is important to note that the community building efforts on each campus will have been affected differently by the pandemic. All Terry campuses have Terry Scholar student organizations that have been working to adjust to the current state of things. They are all taking different approaches, and your audience at any banquet will be a mix from all universities. You should not assume that the same plans exist across all schools. However, the Foundation’s expectation of establishing community in some way IS the same for all schools.
