Abilene Housing Authority Scholarships
High School Senior Scholarship
Each year, the Abilene Housing Authority (AHA) seeks new ways to increase the value of the service we provide to our Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Public Housing participants. We are proud to announce that we have created the Abilene Housing Authority Scholarship Program!
Part of our Mission Statement states, "...to enhance self-sufficiency and promote community quality of life and economic viability."
The AHA scholarship recognizes that we are living in a changing world, and preparing families with the tools to be successful is imperative. AHA will award four (4) $2,000 scholarships each year. Two will be awarded to High School seniors on our HCV and Public Housing programs (one from each program), and two will be awarded to an adult participating in our HCV Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program, and an adult participating in our Public Housing - Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Program. Scholarship recipients will be able to utilize their awards at four-year colleges or universities, community colleges, or vocational and technical schools (other certification opportunities will be considered on a case-by-case basis).
Scholarship Timeline
Scholarship Honorees
In addition to creating four scholarships, we are proud to recognize two AHA Board Chairs that have been instrumental in AHA's success and that have taken a special interest in the financial self-sufficiency of our program participants. The scholarships are named in their honor.
The first scholarship is named in honor of Dr. Tanya Smith Brice. Dr. Brice served on the AHA Board for four years and served as the Board Chair for three years. She was AHA's first Board Chair as AHA transitioned from a department of the City of Abilene to a stand-alone Public Housing Authority in 2008. Dr. Brice was instrumental in encouraging the growth of the FSS Program from five participants in 2008 to 105 in 2025!
Our second scholarship is named in honor of Vanessa Faz. As of 2025, Mrs. Faz has served on the AHA Board for eleven years and served as the AHA Board Chair for six years. She worked with AHA to create a comprehensive, six-week homeownership training program for Public Housing residents and HCV. AHA has been providing this program since 2018. Mrs. Faz also had the vision to encourage AHA to create an HCV Homeownership Program that was approved by the AHA Board in 2025!
How the community can support AHA's Scholarship Program
AHA would like to continue to grow its Scholarship Program! We hope to grow the number of scholarships we can award and the amount of the awards. If you are interested in assisting AHA in growing the Scholarship program, please contact Paul Falade (AHA's CFO at paul.falade@abileneha.org) for more information on how to make this happen.
