Blinn College alumna Margaret Thielemann recently endowed two new scholarships in honor of her late husband Charles Thielemann, a 1954 Blinn graduate.

The scholarships were established with two $15,000 donations to the Blinn College Foundation and are for students majoring in agriculture and engineering.

The scholarships coincide with construction of a three-story, 72,000-square-foot science, technology, engineering, and innovation building on the Brenham Campus. The state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to be completed in time for the Fall 2021 semester.

A Washington County native, Charles Thielemann was a project engineer for Dow Chemical Co. before he retired. Charles Thielemann was a member of the Blinn basketball team and Margaret Thielemann was a Blinn cheerleader in 1953-1954. Four of the couple’s five children – Jeannie Cooper, Sally Piper, Nancy Bagley, and Matt Thielemann – and one grandchild, Margaret Kathrine Cooper, attended Blinn.

“Charles really cared for Blinn College,” Margaret Thielemann said. “His degree was in engineering – that’s why I did the engineering scholarship – but his heart was in agriculture, so I did that too.”

In 2017, Charles Thielemann created an endowed scholarship in honor of his wife that is awarded annually to a member of the Blinn cheerleading team.

“Charles opened a scholarship for me,” said Mrs. Thielemann, “and I thought that since he had honored me that way, I would do the same for him.”

Blinn Foundation Chair Sam Sommer said donations like the Thielemanns’ help ensure students get an opportunity to go to college.

“We appreciate each and every one,” Sommer said. “The generosity of those donors has allowed the Blinn Foundation to provide a helping hand to hundreds of students every year.”

The Foundation is a tax-exempt organization that provides financial support for programs and activities that enhance the quality of education for Blinn students and expand educational opportunities. It also looks to heighten community awareness of the mission and accomplishments of the college and to promote excellence in education. More information is available at www.blinn.edu/foundation.

Endowed scholarships are available to incoming and returning students from a wide range of backgrounds, majors, and experiences. Students are considered based on high academic achievement, participation in student activities, and community involvement.

Current high school and college students can apply for Blinn scholarships by completing the application at www.blinn.edu/scholarships. Prior to applying for scholarships, students must complete their application for admission to Blinn College at www.applytexas.org.

According to data available on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s CollegeForAllTexans.com, Blinn provides a significant value even before scholarships are included. Out-of-district students taking 30 credit hours in 2020-21 will save 44% in tuition and fees compared to in-state residents at the average public university.

A full list of Blinn’s endowed scholarships is available at http://catalog.blinn.edu. Students also can fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov. For information about applying for scholarships, contact a scholarship advisor at [email protected].