An Emporia High School student is one of two Kansans chosen for the Fran Jabara Scholarship in Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University.
Leah Torrens, daughter of Tamara and Russell Torrens, will receive a $20,000 scholarship, spread over four years. The scholarship honors Fran Jabara, a WSU business faculty member for 40 years, who founded the WSU Center for Entrepreneurship 20 years ago and now is head of Jabara Ventures Group, Inc.
As namesake of the scholarship, Jabara will mentor the recipients, according to information from WSU.
Torrens, who also is taking classes at Emporia State University, is interested in entrepreneurship and real estate, as well as marketing. The process of buying and selling property piqued her interest when her family bought a home last year, she said. Interior design also drew her attention.
“Then I got to see it from another aspect, where you see how beautiful the houses are,” she said.
Ultimately, she wants to own a business.
“Then there’s knowing how to market your business,” she said. “That’s where I went with it.”
The competition to win the scholarship was rigorous. Torrens was required to write an essay about something from her past that has affected her future.
Her essay described a near-fatal health problem that struck her sister without warning, and the way she and the family fought together through the girl’s surgeries and treatments. In the essay, Torrens emphasized how experiences influence ways in which people handle situations they face.
“... I remember thinking that this could be the end of my sister’s life, but as the rest of us sat around and worried about my sister, not once did I ever hear her ask, ‘Why me?’ My family learned an invaluable lesson that we will never forget. We must live each day to the fullest, take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead, thank God for every day we have, and spread this lesson to everyone who wants to know why our outlook on life is so much different from theirs.”
She also had to provide a resume of the numerous activities she had participated in during her high-school years.
Nine finalists then were chosen to go to Wichita to compete in person for the scholarships. They attended a luncheon with representatives of the WSU school of business and, after the meal, met individually with the professionals to present a speech and be interviewed, Torrens said.
She was notified of the win by a telephone call recently at 7 a.m.
“Nobody calls that early,” Torrens said, laughing.
She received the good news and went on to a class at Emporia State University.
“I was trying to be quiet about it,” she said. “I was in the cloud up there.”
Torrens has been involved in academics, athletics, and volunteer work throughout her high school career.
She was co-captain of leadership camp and attended the Conference of Champions, was a member of Spartan Club, Future Business Leaders of America, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Latin Club; she lettered in forensics and was a member-at-large and committee chairman for StuCo. She lettered in cheerleading, won a team award at the National Cheerleaders Association cheer camp, and participated in tennis, track and cross country.
She participated in the EHS choir, as a committee member for Project Emporia and the StuCo blood drive, the Emporia downtown clean-up and as a taco-stuffer for an EHS wrestling team fundraiser.
Among other activities, Torrens has volunteered for two years at Bingo Night at the Holiday Resort nursing center and been the music leader for a variety of events at the Flint Hills Christian Church.
At Flint Hills Christian, she helps with Vacation Bible School students, the harvest festival and sings in the Praise Band. She also teaches vocal music through her “WOWorship” class for 2- to 5-year-olds at the church. Torrens also works at Flint Hills Eyecare Associates.
Torrens has received an additional $9,000 total in other scholarships, some of which are allotted over four years.
She does not take credit for her success.
“I need to give all the glory of receiving such a blessing to God,” she said.