The Sumners Foundation has awarded a $40,000 scholarship to Abilene Christian University government major Jalyn Childers. Sumners Scholarships are awarded based on academic excellence, civic engagement and a capacity for leadership.
Childers, a junior from Flower Mound, Texas, is one of just 36 students nationally to receive a Sumners Scholarship in 2026. The funds are applied toward the students’ junior and senior years.
“We are so excited for Jalyn, who is rising to the call that the Sumners Foundation makes for so many students to dedicate themselves to public service,” said Dr. Neal Coates, professor and chair of ACU’s Department of Government and Criminal Justice.
Childers is pursuing a minor in legal studies and is a Jack Pope Fellow, for which she is earning a second minor in public service. She is also a member of ACU’s Lynay Program (Love Your Neighbor As Yourself), interned in the district office for Congressman Jodey Arrington, and has been a middle distance member of the ACU track and field team. Childers joins ACU students Haylee Newman and Eric Vergane, who are seniors and are participating in the second year of the Sumners Scholars program.
“Our scholars are selected from the very best students at colleges and universities after a rigorous interview process,” said Sumners board chair Scott Higginbotham. “To be selected as a Sumners Scholar is an honor that will remain with the scholar throughout his or her lifetime. Over the decades Sumners Scholars have made significant contributions to their communities, their states and America.”
Sumners Scholar alumni include U.S. District Judge Fred Biery; Joe Foran, chair of Matador Resources; and Nathan Hecht, former chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court.
Learn more about Sumners Scholars or about ACU’s Department of Government and Criminal Justice.