The legacy of the first woman and first African American TCC chancellor, Erma C. Johnson Hadley, lives on in the students who receive scholarships in her name.  

The seventh annual scholarship awards ceremony, which was held in Fort Worth on Nov. 30, recognized Hadley’s contribution to TCC and Tarrant County as a leader in education and student success. The scholarships are awarded to help students who show academic excellence pay for college and living expenses. 

Khalil Reese was this year’s scholarship recipient. Reese is a high school senior with a 3.91 GPA and an SAT score of 1310.  Outside the classroom, Reese is a National Honor Society, Science NHS member, band leader and community volunteer. 

“To all those hearing this interview, I emphasize that you encourage your students to be competitive in everything that they do,” Reese said. “From whatever they do to academics to music, to sports, have them try to be the best at what they’re doing.” 

Reese said he had been experiencing uncertain circumstances when he received this award, which was a blessing. 

Committee chair and event manager, Brendalyn Jackson said that they will continue to promote the scholarship so that young students can carry this legacy into the future. 

“We’ve been doing it for seven years, and I will tell you, it’s an honor,” Jackson said. “It’s an honor because she was amazing. And so today means the world to me. I’m excited, and I’m excited every time we do it, and to know that it’s blessing young people to help them see that they can go higher. They don’t have to settle for less.” 

Former scholarship recipients Madison Corzine, Jackson Roblow, Rachel Kellum and Claudia White were given additional scholarship amounts to help them continue to pay for college expenses. 

“It meant a lot to me to see that my village was supporting me because I went to college a year early,” Corzine said. “I was 17 at the time, and just having that support and knowing that people back home were like, looking out for me was really important, just to making sure that I felt like safe, because I was 12 hours away.” 

Corzine attended the high school dual credit program on NE Campus and got her Associate of Arts degree before attending Spelman College in Atlanta, where she is set to graduate in the spring of 2026.  

“TCC prepared me in one of the greatest ways that I couldn’t imagine, in terms of just being able to handle coursework and just being able to trust myself when it came to college,” Corzine said. “Because I had the experience of doing college courses for four or five years of my life.” 

The event also included a panel discussion about keeping diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education. The panelists addressed questions about the importance of creating an inclusive community. 

NE speech assistant professor Amber Meyers, who is also the founder of the Neurodiversity Club, spoke on the panel about how people can contribute more inclusivity to the community. As an autistic person, she touched on societal norms, specifically when it comes to job interviews.  

“Mostly what I do when I connect with people is I just try and find what motivates you,” Meyers said. “Is it an argument for equity? Is it a poverty argument? Is it an economic argument? Is it a moral, and whatever it is, I’m going to phrase the same ideas through that filter, and then somebody will connect on that deep values level.” 

Opal Lee, who is known as the grandmother of Juneteenth and a member of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, was awarded the Humanitarian Award. She started a walking campaign from Fort Worth to Washington to get then-President Barack Obama to make Juneteenth a holiday. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act bill that officially recognized Juneteenth as a public holiday. 

Ardenia Gould, daughter of Hadley and founder of the Chancellor’s Promise, said the event celebrates the legacy of awarding students and those respected in higher education. 

“This is a continuation of that legacy, that commitment to sowing the seeds in young people, of building community and investing in higher education because she believed that higher education was the path to a new future,” Gould said. 

One of the recipients recognized during the event was long-time TCC board trustee Gwendolyn Morrison, who was honored with the Living Legend Award. Morrison, a friend of Hadley, became a districtwide trustee in 1976. 

“The cherry on top was presenting to Dr. Morrison,” Gould said, “who is a living legend in education and higher ed, a dear, dear friend of my mom, who has been a stalwart in the community and continues to give in tremendous ways.”