Student Profiles
Current Scholarship Students
While public universities are involved in original research, economic development, and cultural leadership, students remain the heart and soul of the institution. With financial support from the state on the decline and with costs rising, private scholarships play an increasingly important role in making a quality university education a reality for more and more students. We are grateful for the generosity of our many friends and alumni, but don’t take our word for it. Meet some of our scholarship recipients.
Justin Heaverin
Justin Heaverin, a UNT senior Jazz Studies major, has been on a mission since he was a high school student – to be a professional jazz percussionist. And as a freshman at the University of Louisville, he determined that his path would bring him to UNT and its world-renowned College of Music. All of his hard work to get here, though, was not quite enough.
A scholarship made all the difference.
As a high school student in Louisville, Ky., Heaverin met renowned percussionist and UNT music professor Ed Soph while attending a jazz summer camp. Soph's tutelage left an indelible impression on the young jazz musician. Though they supported his goals, Heaverin's parents lacked the financial resources to pay out-of-state tuition for their son to attend UNT. He enrolled at the University of Louisville instead, as a music major.
During a second summer camp in Louisville, Heaverin decided that the best place to learn and hone his skills as a percussionist was in Denton, Texas. He and Soph discussed the possibility of finding scholarship help. But first, Heaverin had to prepare for two auditions, in drum set and classical percussion performance, for admittance into UNT's jazz studies program.
Soph told Heaverin he needed to learn "classical" percussion – those instruments and styles relating to orchestral music – which is different than Heaverin's preferred "drum set" genre.
Heaverin heeded Soph's advice and changed his major at Louisville to jazz performance, which includes classical percussion in its curriculum. For a year, he focused on this genre to prepare himself for UNT's program. At the end of his sophomore year, he was ready to apply at UNT. He contacted Soph, who started looking for scholarships in UNT's College of Music that were a good fit for Heaverin.
The scholarship for which he applied, and that he received, actually was augmented by an anonymous donor who emphatically insisted it go to a student with "significant need."
Heaverin passed his audition and enrolled in jazz studies at UNT.
"When I heard that I got that scholarship, I couldn't believe it," he said. "I was like ... wow!"
And he has thrived at UNT. In fact, he earned a spot in UNT's Two O'Clock Lab Band. However, before he could begin playing with this accomplished group, he met another challenge – a repetitive stress injury that prevented him from playing to his potential. The next year, he said, was a blur. He continued to perform in the classroom, but he lagged in the completion of "mastery" performances required to earn his degree. He said that faculty, staff, and students all were invaluably supportive while he adjusted his playing style to allow recovery.
Now a senior and back to full strength, he is working to complete the mastery requirements so he can earn his degree and embark on what he considers his calling. He said he plans to graduate in summer 2012 and then travel to New York or Los Angeles, drumsticks in hand, to "play creative music with creative people," a goal inspired by Professor Soph more than five years ago.
Student Testimony
UNT was the only school in Texas I applied to. I was determined to live in Los Angeles among the palm trees and beaches, but something stopped me. To this day, I’m not sure why I applied at UNT when I’d already been accepted to Cal State Long Beach.
When my acceptance package came, I was ecstatic. I opened it to find out I’d been accepted into UNT's Emerald Eagle Scholars program. They were going to pay my full tuition for me. I celebrated alone and then called my mother. She cried when I told her. As a single mother with another daughter to support, she was stressed about how she was going to afford my education. Now she didn't have to worry. I was going to UNT.
UNT gave me the opportunity to choose my future. I was going to be a Journalism major, then a Radio, Television, and Film major; but I settled on English, as writing was my true passion.
Thanks to UNT alumni, I have graduated with a bachelor's degree in English. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the generous people who donated to the Emerald Eagle Scholars program. I’ve even inspired my mother to go back to school, where she is currently working on her nursing degree.
Thank you, UNT, for the amazing adventure we had together.
– Justin Heaverin