Ashley Montondon of Humble, a second-year student in the M.S.W. program at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, is the first student from UH to be selected to receive a $5,000 scholarship from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.
Montondon is one of 10 graduate social work students in Texas to receive the scholarship.
Since earning a bachelor's degree in psychology, Montondon has worked with adolescents, families and mental health consumers in a variety of settings in Texas and Virginia. "Earning a master's in social work will be a dream come true and will provide a solid foundation for my career goals of becoming an excellent, intuitive clinician and continuing to be a passionate advocate," said Montondon.
In recent years the Hogg Foundation has awarded Ima Hogg scholarships annually to graduate social work students who plan to provide mental health services after graduation. The scholarship program was created in 1956 by Ima Hogg to attract students to mental health careers.
This year, the Hogg Foundation doubled the number of scholarships to mark its 70th year of promoting mental health in Texas. The foundation was created in 1940 by the children of former Governor James S. Hogg and has awarded millions of dollars in Texas to support mental health services, research, policy analysis and public education.
"Miss Ima truly was gifted in her vision for improving mental health in Texas. The scholarship program she created five decades ago is more relevant than ever today as Texas faces a serious and widening gap between the mental health workforce and the need for services," said Dr. Octavio N. Martinez Jr., executive director, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.
Scholarship recipients must attend a Texas graduate social work program that is accredited or pending accreditation by the national Council on Social Work Education. For more information about the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, please visit http://www.hogg.utexas.edu/
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