Giddings student facing hardships receives $20,000 scholarship for athletic and academic excellence

GIDDINGS, Texas (KBTX) – The school year is wrapping up and a summer with friends, family and fun is within reach. But one Giddings High School Senior is looking back on one of the toughest years of his life with a smile on his face.

Jay Kohlman is one of the hardest working full-time students, athletes and friends.

“I was having practice and then straight from practice and at about 6 or 6:30 p.m. I’d go work until about 9 p.m. and then go home. Then I have to be back up at school at 7:30 in the morning for more practice,” Jay said. “On the weekends, I would go work from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. and then I go home till 5 p.m. and then I go work again till 9 or 10 p.m.”

Busy is an understatement. Jay played basketball for Giddings High School, worked multiple jobs and is about to walk the graduation stage with great grades behind him. Thanks to support from the community, Tootsie Tomantez and Ozarka Spring Water, he’s now headed to college with a $20,000 scholarship.

“I was trying really hard to not cry up there and afterward we walked off the stage I gave [Tootsie] a hug. I told her thank you for everything and always thank you to Ozarka for you know, giving out the scholarship,” he said.

This was an emotional moment on the heels of a devastating year.

“I lived with my grandma for about a year, she passed away last year in June,” he said. “I spent a lot of time with her and everything. She was always there when I was growing up. So that was hard and then a couple of months later my dad ended up passing away in August.”

Since these losses, Jay has been staying with a friend and his family as they finish high school. While he works nearly full-time to sustain a life, he says the family offers financial help as needed. Instead of accepting the help and taking a step back from working as a student, Jay says he works even harder.

“I would feel horrible because I’m already staying with them,” he said. ”They didn’t have to do any of that for me.”

This is exactly why Jay says he’s ready for anything his future throws his way. That includes his move to Bryan in August to attend Blinn College.

“I know a lot of people when they go to college they struggle and stuff like that because you know, it’s different between having to work and going to school and everything like that and I’m like, ‘well, you know, I’ve been doing that so I don’t see why I can’t do it now,’” he said.

As he heads to Blinn, Ozarka wants to make sure he’d not only have help with the cost of school but housing too. The company started a GoFundMe account to raise money for Jay to afford a place to stay and not have to worry about making ends meet.

“It’s really gonna help out a lot and I told one of my friends bout it and he said ‘let me know when it goes up’, he said he wants to be the first person to donate to me. So I thought that was funny. But it’s gonna help out with just a lot of my expenses and stuff like that and I’m really happy that they’re giving me an opportunity for that,” Jay said.

Jay says he looks forward to attending Blinn in just a matter of months and moving to Bryan. He said he hopes to save enough money working this summer so he can take time to find a job when he moves to town. He hopes to pursue a career in physical therapy, following in his late father’s footsteps.