The “Be Like Jen” Scholarship honors the life and legacy of Jennifer Holcomb, a teacher at Wylie High and Wylie East for a total of 10 years. She was a devoted and loving wife, mother, daughter and friend. Jennifer passed away due to colon cancer on December 30, 2019. She was only 48 years old.

Jennifer was able to impact thousands of lives, both in and out of the classroom, simply by acting with kindness and empathy, by putting others before herself, by extending grace to others, and through her determination in the face of adversity. She looked at others and saw them in the way that Christ sees them and treated them accordingly. She lifted up and didn’t tear down. She promoted and didn’t detract. She made everyone that she was talking to feel like they were the most important person.

As a family, we can think of no better way to honor Jennifer’s life and to keep her spirit alive than by trying to encourage others to “Be Like Jen.” With the help of many generous friends and others who were touched by Jennifer’s life, we established this endowed scholarship to keep her impact going long after her death. Each year, the “Be Like Jen” scholarship will be awarded to graduating senior from either Wylie East or Wylie High who has demonstrated in their own lives the values that Jennifer lived her life by: kindness, extending grace, putting others before self, and determination in the face of adversity.

If one person who wasn’t famous or rich or powerful can have the impact that Jennifer did on thousands of lives simply by being kind and selfless, imagine what impact can be had if we all try to “Be Like Jen”! We hope that this scholarship keeps her legacy of kindness going and helps to make the world a better place, just as she did during her life.

The Holcomb Family