Clay Thomas Chapman Memorial Scholarship
The Clay Thomas Chapman Memorial Scholarship has been established to remember Clay Chapman by acknowledging the academic, athletic, and personal achievements of one Lovejoy Senior student-athlete each year. The scholarship recipient will receive $1,500 towards the cost of their higher education, disbursed directly to the college or university as $750 each semester of the recipient’s first year.
Qualifications / Requirements
Applicants must meet the following qualifications and requirements:
- Lovejoy student-athlete- participating in a sport during their senior year.
- Successful student - GPA of 3.5 or higher.
- Higher education – applicants must be planning to attend a college or university after graduation from Lovejoy High School.
- Leader – showing qualities of a leader in their life and in their athletic performance.
- Faith – exhibiting high moral character and faith in God through their actions.
To ensure continued academic achievement, scholarship recipients must achieve a GPA of 3.00 or higher for the first semester of their freshman year in college to receive the scholarship funds for the second semester.
Acknowledgments
This scholarship was made possible by the employees of the Infiniux family of companies – Nexius Solutions, Inc.; Velex, Inc.; AccuV, Inc.; Velex SI, Inc.; Allios, Inc.; Myndco, Inc.; and Intelgica, Inc. – and their banking partner, PNC Bank. We thank them for their generous support during the tragic time experienced by the Chapman family.
Additionally, we thank BBVA USA Bank, RSM McGladrey, Inc., and the many families and friends in the Lovejoy community that contributed to the Chapman family after the passing of Clay. Funds have been contributed to the research of rare genetic diseases and to an adoption organization helping place children into loving, Christian homes.
We thank Dr. Mike Goddard, Coach Kyle Herrema, Coach Lance Boxell, and Coach Mike Motsney for the acknowledgments and remembrances of Clay at the basketball games on February 11, 2020.
Finally, we thank the Dallas Mavericks, the American Airlines Center, the Dallas Cowboys, and Coach Ricky Allen of the RBA Academy for providing several great experiences to comfort Clay’s siblings and friends in the days immediately after his passing.
Remembering Clay
Clay Chapman spent his entire life in Lucas, Texas. He attended Lovejoy Elementary from kindergarten through 4 th grade. Clay was a 5th grade student at Sloan Creek Intermediate School at the time of his passing on February 7, 2020.
Clay was an energetic, caring, happy, smart and loving son, brother and friend. He loved spending time with his family. Clay loved spending time with his Dad, whether with his Dad coaching him in sports, taking him on a trip, or doing something around town or the house. Clay loved playing in the yard, swimming, jumping on the trampoline and playing video games with his sister Sydney and his brother Cole. Clay loved spending time with his grandparents… eating a meal or playing with the dog. But most of all, Clay loved his Mama… getting “mom hugs”, holding her hand and spending as much time as possible with her.
Clay loved his church family. He enjoyed spending time with his friends from his local church congregation and playing with them after worship services and at fellowship events. Clay loved his friends and teachers at Lovejoy Elementary and Sloan Creek. Although he always said P.E. was his favorite subject, Clay excelled in math and social studies. His parents would consistently get messages from his teachers on his kindness, caring nature, great attitude, and warm smile. After his death, the Chapman family received many cards and notes from parents referencing the kindness that Clay showed their kids.
Clay loved to play sports. He loved being a part of teams named “Leopards” as were many of his soccer, baseball and basketball teams. He earned numerous trophies and medals in these sports from playing in city leagues and tournaments. His favorite sport was basketball and Clay loved being a part of the RBA Academy coached by Ricky Allen. Although being small for his age, Clay was known to be a hardworking, dedicated athlete. Through sports, Clay developed many strong friendships and learned the values of hard work and being a good teammate.
Clay suffered from an undiagnosed and extremely rare genetic condition that presented no symptoms until 4 days before his passing. Although unknowingly being impacted by the disease, Clay continued to play tournament basketball in his last month with us without knowing why he was feeling tired… playing as hard as he could to help his team win a tournament just a few weeks before his death.
Just as Clay loved many things on this earth, he was greatly and immensely loved by his family. Although he is no longer with us, we could see the impact that Clay had on so many kids, friends, parents and teachers by the overwhelming response that the Chapman family received from our family, our church family and our Lovejoy family.
With this scholarship, the Chapman family wishes to remember Clay by rewarding a Lovejoy student-athlete who exhibits many of the same qualities and characteristics of Clay.