University of Houston-Downtown’s Sports & Fitness recently awarded five scholarships to students: Talhah Bajwa, Daniel Calderon, Jorge Mendoza, Nancy Morgado and Elise Poisot. Each will receive $500 for their spring 2021 tuition, which was made possible by the generous donors to the Sports & Fitness Gator Give Back Campaign.

In a call for applications, Sports & Fitness extended the opportunity to any UHD student who took advantage of its programs and services during the spring 2020 semester, including students who used the gym to work out or participated in club sports, intramural sports or group fitness. In addition, students had to meet GPA and registration requirements.

As part of the application, students submitted essays detailing how they maintained a healthy lifestyle despite the challenges of COVID-19. In the essays, students often spoke of finding inventive ways to incorporate fitness into their routines. Popular choices varied between exercising with their families, creating a gym in their garage and making health adjustments to eating habits.

“Our students are second to none and they know how to overcome, excel and succeed. We always hear about ‘Gator Grit’ and how our students find a way. The essays highlighted how our students continued to exercise and improve their athletic skill, which further illustrates that our students will overcome this virus,” said Dr. Rhonda Scherer, Associate Director for Sports & Fitness.

Dr. Scherer also underscored Sports & Fitness’ unwavering commitment to students’ well-being.

She said, “During this pandemic we have never stopped our programming for a healthy lifestyle. In addition to offering exercise classes online, we have also offered e-sports, fitness assessments, healthy workshops, personal training and nutrition counseling. We want our students to know that their health is very important, especially now.”