For the News-Sun
Hobbs, NM – On Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, the JF Maddox Foundation announced that Mykaylah Thomas has been awarded the 2022 Jack Maddox Distinguished Scholarship.
Mykaylah is a senior at Hobbs High School this fall. She is the daughter of Shawn and Mykia Thomas. Mykaylah is interested in pursuing a biochemistry degree at Howard University.
An independent Selection Committee reviewed 41 comprehensive applications submitted to the Jack Maddox Distinguished Scholarship Program from throughout Lea County, and considered each applicant’s academic achievements, extracurricular activities and written essays. From this applicant pool, the Selection Committee selected 15 semi-finalists for personal interviews. From those semi-finalists, the Selection Committee selected five finalists: Mason Brown (Tatum), Arwen Ching (Hobbs), Kaitlyn Gallant (Eunice), Josiah Matthews (Hobbs), and Mykaylah Thomas (Hobbs).
With the award of the Jack Maddox Distinguished Scholarship, Brooklyn will be able to pursue an undergraduate degree from a college or university of her choice in the continental United States. The Jack Maddox Distinguished Scholarship covers all costs of tuition, fees, textbooks, and room and board for her entire four-year undergraduate education.
The remaining four finalists are all Maddox Scholars, and will receive scholarships of $20,000 each, $5,000 per year for four years of undergraduate study, which also may be utilized at any public or private college or university in the continental United States. Additionally, several universities have entered into agreements with the Foundation to match the Maddox Scholarship award with additional scholarships based on their selection as a Maddox Scholar. Those Universities include University of the Southwest, Texas Tech University, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, McMurry University, Hardin Simmons University, Texas Christian University, and Rice University.
This year, the Jack Maddox Distinguished Scholarship Program is celebrating its 27th anniversary. Over the course of the Scholarship Program’s history, the Foundation has provided Lea County high school graduates with more than $4 million in college scholarships. The five Maddox Scholars selected this year will join over 100 Maddox Scholars who have received scholarships since the first class of scholars was selected in 1996.
The Jack Maddox Distinguished Scholarship is named in honor of Jack Maddox, who, along with his wife, Mabel, established the JF Maddox Foundation in 1963 and funded the Foundation from their estates. Since then, the JF Maddox Foundation has funded over $260 million in grants. Some of the recent projects include $6.3 million toward the construction of a new hospital in Hobbs, $10 million toward a career technical education high school, and $27.5 million to the CORE facility.
