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FWIT 2025-2026 Elevate Scholarship Information

Scholarships are offered annually by Financial Women in Texas (FWIT) to promote improvements in the professional development, leadership skills, education, and training of women in the financial services industry. These scholarships also aim to bring together women in the financial services industry for the exchange of ideas, experiences, and interests.

The Financial Women in Texas Association has allocated $7,500 for professional development scholarships this year. Scholarships will be awarded based on the merit of each applicant’s proposed professional development opportunity.

Individual awards may vary in amount, up to a maximum of $1,500 per recipient, depending on the total number of qualified applicants and the cost of the program or certification. We encourage you to provide a detailed cost breakdown. The committee may award partial funding based on the available budget and application strength.

The scholarship may be used for a wide range of professional development opportunities, including conferences, certifications, seminars, webinars, forums, workshops, conventions, and tuition-based programs, including but not limited to:

  • Professional conferences or conventions (e.g., Women in Banking, TBA, IBAT, ICBA, or ABA events)
  • Certifications (CRCM, CPA, AAP, etc.)
  • Seminars, webinars, forums, workshops
  • Tuition for programs such as the Graduate School of Banking (GSB) or SWGSB

All FWIT members in good standing who did not receive an Association Scholarship (Professional Development or Conference) during the last year are eligible to apply. Recipients of these scholarships are not eligible to be awarded an FWIT Association conference scholarship during the same calendar year.

Complete the information on the attached application and return it via e-mail to the Association Awards and Scholarship Chair listed below.  All applications received via email will be acknowledged with a reciprocating email response.

The deadline for receipt of your application is midnight on January 31.  An outside committee will judge applications received.  Any application received after the deadline will not be judged.  Recipients will be notified by e-mail no later than the end of February.  Recipients will submit an Association Expense Reimbursement form for expenses up to the approved amount. Recipients must be in good standing with the Association when scholarship checks are issued.


Kelsey Goates: kelsey.goates@texasbank.com

2025-2026 FWIT Association Awards and Scholarship Chair


2025 FWIT Scholarship Winners

Professional Development Scholarship Winners

Two professional development scholarships in the amount of $1,000 have been awarded and we are proud to announce our recipients!

Congratulations to Julissa Alejandre and Ally Torres Olszynski! 

Julissa Alejandre is a Financial Manager for Epilepsy Foundation Texas. Julissa handles the full accounting cycle, grant billing, and works under the guidance of the CFO to ensure financial accuracy and compliance. With the FWIT scholarship funds, Julissa plans to attend the 2-day TXCPA Fall Accounting Conference & Technology Symposium.

Julissa has been a member of FWIT since 2016. She served as the Houston Group Vice President for two terms and is currently serving as the President of the Houston Group.

Julissa has long-term goals to obtain her CPA license. She would like to continue in her field and advance to the position of financial director and controller.

Congratulations Julissa! We applaud your accomplishments and are honored to help you reach your goals!

Ally Torres is the Community Engagement Project Manager, AVP at First National Bank Texas.  In this role Ally fosters community connections for sponsorships and engagement opportunities, manages all donations and sponsorship requests, and leads the bank’s financial literacy program.

Ally is a FWIT Virtual member.  She attends meetings virtually but also plans to attend in-person meetings in Austin. Ally enjoys connecting with like-minded women in FWIT who have similar career paths, offer inspiration, encouragement and shared growth opportunities.

Ally’s long-term goal is to expand the bank’s financial literacy initiatives and Lemonade Day program, strengthen her public relations and communication skills, and build a network of community partners. Ally plans to use her scholarship funds for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Digital Communication Certificate Program, which concentrates on an advanced technical landscape for digital communicators working within branding, social media and content strategy to leverage a variety of digital tools through evolving channels and platforms geared to appeal to different audiences. 

Congratulations Ally!  Your new skills will be a wonderful asset for your career goals and our Association!



2025 Conference Scholarship Winners

For 2025 the Association awarded 10 scholarships to attend our 16th Annual Conference: FWIT 2025 - Uptown Girl- Dallas, TX at The Crescent Hotel.  Five of these scholarships were offered to first-time FWIT Conference attendees.  The remaining five scholarships were awarded to members who has previously attended a FWIT Association Conference.  The value of each scholarship was on the amount of the Early Bird registration of $450.  And the winners are:

First Time Attendees

    • Jennifer Walker, Dallas Group
    • Leslie Rhodes, Heart of Texas Group
    • Sarah Bell, East Texas Group
    • Vanessa Kilman, Galveston Group
    • Stacie Cooks, Austin Group
Returning Attendees
    • Cheryl Linder, Gulf Coast Group
    • Dana Mosier, East Texas Group
    • Emma Bothwell, East Texas Group
    • Kathy Marullo, Galveston Group
    • Nayer Sikder, Austin Group

Congratulations to all our scholarship recipients! 


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