Collins and Cox Win Eckman Awards

Eckman award winners

By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director

For their performance in two challenging honors seminars at Northeast Texas Community College in relation to their peers, two Presidential Scholars have recently won $100 checks. 

Mercedes Collins, NTCC’s 2019-20 Texas Heritage Bank Scholar, had the highest combined grade in the Fall of 2019 Humusic Seminar, a learning community that combines modern world history, and music appreciation.  Katelyn Cox came ahead of her peers in the Biotex Seminar, that combines general biology with Texas history. 

An anonymous donor has funded the Eckman Awards in memory of the late Richard and Joan Eckman.  Richard Eckman was a long-time inventor for Dresser Industries, a signature Texas oilfield corporation. This is the seventh semester students at NTCC have received Eckmans. Previous winners have leveraged these awards for still greater scholarships on the national level such as the Jack Kent Cooke, Leaders of Promise, Guistwhite, and a Coca Cola Silver Award.

Collins is a graduate of Daingerfield High School, and is the daughter of Brian and Kimberly Collins.  Cox was homeschooled, and spent the first years of her life in Tanzania.  She is the daughter of Richard and Barbara Cox of Mount Vernon.