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Clear to partly cloudy. Low 39F. Winds light and variable..
Clear to partly cloudy. Low 39F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: March 21, 2025 @ 10:15 pm
Jennifer C. Sanchez-Reyes
Managing Editor
Jennifer C. Sanchez-Reyes
For current Derby High School junior Jennifer Sanchez-Reyes, one of the two latest Jabara Scholars at Wichita State University, fate intervened during interview day on the WSU campus back in December.
Originally, Sanchez-Reyes was interviewing for an entirely different scholarship, but after that was complete those administering the interview encouraged her to apply for the Jabara Scholarship through the W. Frank Barton School of Business. Though there was one stipulation – to major in entrepreneurship – that was no issue for the DHS junior, who was planning on pursuing a business-related degree.
Upon completion of the second interview, Sanchez-Reyes was told she did a “great job.” After completing the necessary essays following the interview, the Derby student was informed she would be receiving a Jabara Scholarship early in 2025.
“That was really amazing because I hadn’t even anticipated applying to that at first because I hadn’t decided on a major yet,” Sanchez-Reyes said. “I was speechless because I already began to think that maybe I wasn’t going to be able to go to college this year.”
In being named one of two recipients of the 2025 Jabara Endowed Scholarship, Sanchez-Reyes is set to receive more than $32,700 in financial aid over four years to pursue her entrepreneurship degree at WSU.
As a junior, Sanchez-Reyes plans on graduating early this spring and starting college next fall. But as that date crept forward, she admitted she was beginning to have second thoughts and concerns about being able to afford college. With the Jabara scholarship, though, “everything started falling into its place.”
The Jabara Scholarship is one of the largest of its kind nationally for entrepreneurs. To qualify, students must have achieved at least a 24 score on their ACT, a 3.5 high school GPA and declare entrepreneurship as their major. Sanchez-Reyes currently holds a 4.15 GPA at DHS and is also a member of National Honor Society and DECA.
On top of that, Sanchez-Reyes runs her own small jewelry business, so declaring an entrepreneurship major was an easy call given what she hopes to accomplish – both for her family and others in the community.
“A lot of people, they tend to focus on something more directly [related] to themselves, and I’m really into helping others – especially my family, because they’re actually the reason I am who I am today,” Sanchez-Reyes said. “I also, in the future, want to be able to help more people in the Hispanic community with business-related topics because, as a Hispanic myself, I know that it’s a struggle finding help.”
Looking ahead to her time at WSU, Sanchez-Reyes hopes to take all the classes she enjoys as well as those she needs to hone her business acumen – to help her family’s business plans and do so much more.
Kelly Breckunitch is the managing editor for the Derby Informer. Contact him at kelly@derbyinformer.com for questions and news tips.
Managing Editor
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