Rockwall YMCA Member Grace Pesek Wins College Scholarship to Attend Tarleton State

Grace Pesek, a member of the J.E.R. Chilton YMCA in Rockwall, received the Dye Foundation Scholarship through the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas Foundation's 46th Annual College Scholarship program. Pesek plans to attend Tarleton State University and was among 21 North Texas high school seniors recognized at the program's College Scholarship Reception on March 31, 2026.

The 21 recipients shared $288,000 in total scholarship funding, awarded at up to $5,000 per semester and distributed over four years. That multi-year structure sets the award apart from one-time grants, providing financial support across a full undergraduate career rather than only at initial enrollment. Funding came from several named sources: the Dye Foundation, the Fina Foundation, the Jordan Family Scholarship, the King-Phipps Foundation, and the YMCA Chairman's Scholarship.

Applicants were evaluated on college entrance scores, high school grades, financial need, and demonstrated YMCA values including community service and personal motivation. Now in its 46th consecutive year, the program has become one of the longer-standing regional scholarship pipelines in North Texas.

Curt Hazelbaker, President and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, and Kathryn Allen, President of the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas Foundation, both characterized the awards as investments in the region's future workforce, civic engagement, and community health.

For the J.E.R. Chilton YMCA, Pesek's selection reflects the Rockwall branch's place within the YMCA's metropolitan youth development network. The scholarship's four-year payout is explicitly designed to reduce debt accumulation and improve degree completion odds, factors that carry increasing weight as college costs continue to rise across North Texas suburbs.