Student Included in Robert M. Tinstman Fellowship, 1 of 2 Accepted

SAGU graduate student Vanessa Tellez is currently a member of United Way of Texas’s Robert M. Tinstman Fellowship. The UWTTinstman Fellowship program seeks to provide qualified college students with the opportunity to participate in internships within the United Way system in Texas. She was one of only two interns accepted for the 2010-2011 campaign.

R.M. (Bob) Tinstman spent a lifetime of service to his communities and his country. Throughout his life, Mr. Tinstman consistently functioned as a volunteer with community organizations, principally in the United Way movement and Crimestoppers. It is in honor of Mr. Tinstman’s unrestricted bequest that United Way of Texas (UWT) established the program.

Tinstman Fellows have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of nonprofit organizations. This insight is gained through activities such as communications/marketing support, campaign support, grant development/fundraising, local initiatives, disaster preparedness, community needs assessment, and administrative help.

The United Way was created in 1887 by a Denver priest, two ministers and a rabbi who recognized the need for cooperative action to address their city’s welfare problems. Comprised of professionals of diverse backgrounds, United Way improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good. The United Way of Ellis County supports 26 different nonprofit agencies in Ellis County.

“The internship itself was an amazing experience,” Tellez commented. “I had the opprotunity to work closely with board members and agency directors. Everyone had a story and a passion for the community, and that alone really feuled a passion in my heart for how God plans to use me in the future. These board members have their own jobs, but have a passion for helping others and volunteer their time to the United Way. The selflessness that they express is something that we can all learn from.”

Vanessa Tellez is originally from Mcallen, Texas. She plans on graduating from SAGU with her master’s degree in counseling in 2012. Tellez hopes to work with Teen Challenge or a similar organization with adolescent girls dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. According to Tellez, “Working with the United Way opened my eyes and really served as a constant reminder for why I wanted to be a counselor in the first place and how truly blessed I have been.”