John and Deborah Gillis Foundation

08/31/2026

We love you and are so proud of you, Sanay! You have an amazing heart and will pour into whatever you decide to do in life as you continue to build a beautiful like for yourself! Your community surrounds you with much love and many cheers for how proud we are of you! You are truly AMAZING!!!

08/24/2026

Good luck to ALL our Bright Stars Scholars as they head back to school this fall, but especially our new 2026 Class of Scholars as they head in to their freshmen year! You have MANY here who have got your backs, praying prayers over you, and are just a text or a phone call away! Parents, know you have a village standing along side you as you send them off into the world!!!

08/24/2026

Parents, it’s a bit of a read but please, please read and take in this college advisor’s message for your children’s sake!

https://grownandflown.com/academic-advisor-helps-college-students/?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwdGRleAT5HTxwZG9mBWZkaWQWUNHGmC_OYqNebFW9yYCmICS7C8vFZmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR7tffPcuDDsGC-uNMSRB_qqOtQJi8GOQfS1lan7to1YI3QZwcKzVqUKBoP89w_aem_pXu1zxJ6Z9YfQI0pqI99Rg

University Academic Advisor sees how difficult it is for many students to manage the stress of college. Here's what she wants parents to know.

08/05/2026

We love when we can meet our Bright Stars Scholars for lunch or dinner or just coffee to get caught up! 2023 BS Scholar Lauren Lewellen (TJC Nursing Program) and 2024 BS Scholar Daniel Corral (ETAMU Math Education Major) we are SOOOOO proud of you and hope you both have an awesome fall semester!

08/01/2026

Sharon is why we do what we do. Her kindness. Her gratitude. Her work ethic. Her beautiful heart. Sharon makes us better. We are so blessed you applied, interviewed and gave us a chance to know you, love you and take life’s journey with you! You are simply precious and AMAZING and we love you and your heart deeply! And we can’t WAIT to call you Doc!!

07/26/2026

We have an annual Off to College celebration for our Bright Stars Scholars a few weeks before they all start to head off to school. A few 2026 Scholars were out of town and could not make it. You were so missed. This is to celebrate a Right of Passage for our new students. It is also for all our ‘kids’ in college, not just our newest class, to come together and bond as a group. To let our older Scholars pour into the new ones heading off with their wisdom, advice and what they would do differently in their freshmen year. To let our 2026 Scholars ask questions of our older Scholars. It is always our favorite part of the day!

Here are just a few pics of a day filled with a sense of family, joy, celebration, and a sense that pouring in to our young people truly does change the world. SO…..

Go be great, do great and change the world our precious and amazing Scholars. All 83 of you FILL our hearts and our hope! You all are cherished!

07/22/2026

Great advice from Hanna4Hope, Inc.. we love and care for all our Bright Stars Scholars!

07/17/2026

These children are so very blessed to have Karrigan for their teacher! We are so proud of you, Karrigan! You just continue to be an amazing and growing and stretching young woman! All of us in the foundation adore you and can’t wait to see your new career unfold!!!

07/09/2026

We have another RN in the family as Luke Ritter (Saltillo ISD), a 2023 Bright Stars Scholar graduated from the University of Texas at Tyler in May and is now a registered nurse working in the Surgical Prep Unit at UTHealth Hospital in Tyler. We are extremely proud of Luke and all he has accomplished through his collegiate career, including a prestigious internship in their cardiac unit of the hospital.

Luke, we know you will continue to do incredible things in the medical field and we cannot be any more proud of you and what you have already accomplished! You’re making the world a better place and paying your blessing forward ten-fold already! We love our forever Bright Star Scholar Luke Ritter!!! Congratulations!!!!