LHWL scholarship recipients. Photo by Carol Toler.
When you hear Lake Highlands High School senior Nneka “Pearl” Menye gush praise and gratitude for her mother and the many opportunities provided when the family moved from Nigeria to Texas, you might think she’s won the lottery. Menye recognizes the sacrifices her mom made to create a better life almost 7,000 miles away.
“My mom works a lot of jobs to make sure I adequately get what I need,” Menye said. “I don’t know how to put into words the amount of support she has given me. She’s a big part of why I even want to go to college. I want to make her sacrifices worth it.”
Menye was one of 46 LHHS seniors to receive a college scholarship from the Lake Highlands Women’s League at a ceremony Friday. The grants were awarded after a lengthy application and interview process.
“It’s the definition of compassion,” said Menye. “To work and host this home tour event and then give the money away to people who obviously need it — it’s very inspiring. If I ever come back and live in Lake Highlands, I know I’d want to be part of an organization like this one.”
Menye will attend Texas Women’s University to study psychology.
“As we honored and celebrated our scholarship recipients, we quickly realized that our future is in amazing hands with these young leaders and doers,” said Heather Marburger, president of LHWL. “We don’t simply invest financially, we also do so emotionally. We fall in love with these kids and cheer them on for years to come. The future is bright.”
Among the many recipients, Sophia Hufstedler stood out as the artist of the bunch. She first began painting with watercolors at age three when her mom enrolled her in a class with a college professor.
“I was really into it at a young age,” she said, laughing.
These days she leans toward mixed media and colored pencil, though she’s enjoying trying lots of different artistic expressions. That’s a good thing, because she’s headed to the prestigious Kansas City Art Institute, where declaring a specific field of study isn’t permitted in year one. When she graduates, she’s hoping to become a product designer.
“Whatever you see was designed by a person — this ladder over here or that chair or that hat. I’d like to design sustainable products made with renewable components — no plastics,” she told me.
Hufstedler was encouraged by the grant from LHWL — not just for the much-needed financial support, but because of the sentiment behind it.
“A lot of people think it’s not important to support artists. This (scholarship) tells me that they value art, and they don’t just think it’s a passion. They think it’s beneficial to the world. It makes me think I’m really contributing to society and not just wasting my money. Giving me this money that they worked so hard for shows me they are, number one, generous, and also, they think I’m going places.”
Like Menye, Hufstedler was aware the scholarship funds were derived from donors and attendees at the holiday tour.
“I told them in my interview it might be cool if, one day, I could come back to Lake Highlands and use my artistic skills to help with the home tour. It would really be cool if one of the products I designed was used in the homes.”
“Every year the scholarship presentation is an incredible reminder of the countless ways in which LHHS students have achieved greatness over their high school career,” agreed Stephani Walne, who co-chaired Holiday in the Highlands with Jenny Littlefield. “These students have set the bar high, overcome obstacles and developed monumental goals as they prepare for college.”
“Thank you to all who support LHWL,” continued Walne. “It is through these contributions the league is able to support these deserving scholarship recipients. We are so proud of these young men and women — they are destined for continued greatness.”
2025 LHWL scholarship recipients are: Jalen Abdi (UT Dallas), Mahfuz Adetunji (UTD), Janelle Aguirre (OU or Baylor), Lauren Anderson (UT), Reese Barnhart (UT), Terion Brady (University of Houston), Josh Brown (Baylor), Madison Carballo (OU), Lateefat Coker (Sam Houston State), Maggie Cothern (UT), Natalia Delgadillo (TCU), Camilla Enderli (Texas A&M or Arkansas), Diana Garza (UTA), Ella Gonzales (UT), John Gorman (Sewanee or Furman or NC State), Rylan Haas (Texas A&M), Grace Henry (Kansas), Sophia Hufstedler (Kansas City Art Institute), Octavia Johnson (Stephen F. Austin), Julian Kappler (Texas State or Houston), Leah Kappler (Texas State), Madison Knefley (UT), Campbell Lewis (Arkansas), Bethzy Lopez (UTA, TWU or UNT), Allie Lorino (Auburn), Nicola MacCarthy (UT), Nathan Macy (Rhodes), Adara McBeth (Texas State), Charlotte McMillian (Georgia), Nneka “Pearl” Menye (TWU), Jennifer Nguyen (UTD), Chidera Nwitor (Houston), Cherie Obi (UTD), Elton Pereira Garcia (UNT), Finley Ragsdale (Richmond), Emily Ramos Cresencio (TWU), Quinn Ray (UT), Melanni Reyes (UT), Angel Rivera-Marquez (Tarleton State), Juan Rodriguez (UTA or SMU), Emerson Starr (Arkansas), Cole Swank (Texas A&M), Millie Taylor (Colorado), Cheza Taylor (UT), Katie Threadgill (UT) and Meredith Zink (Penn State).
