Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors Names Scholarship Recipients

Three North Texas students have been announced as winners of the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors Education Foundation’s scholarships.

Ryan Alferink, Nathanael Nakamura, and Jordan Purselley were each awarded $2,500 scholarships. GFWAR members support the scholarship program through donations each year.

The number of applications received by the GFWAR Education Foundation grew 44 percent from last year, so it was not an easy task to narrow the list to three exceptional recipients, said Mary Margaret Davis, president of the Foundation Board.

“We are proud to be able to support Ryan, Nathanael, and Jordan as they embark on their bright futures,” she said.

Three Outstanding Students

Alferink was valedictorian of his class at Frontier STEM Academy in Mansfield. Among his other high school honors, he was deemed an AP Scholar with Distinction and National Merit Commended Scholar. He received the Frontier STEM Academy Rising Star Award.

A founding member of his school’s award-winning University Interscholastic League Current Events team, Alferink also served as a member of the student government. Additionally, he works as a soccer referee for the Mansfield Soccer Association and the North Texas Soccer Association, where he supervised games for all ages, including adult players. Alferink will be attending the University of Missouri where he plans to study atmospheric science and political science. His career goal is to work in defense science and public policy.

“I am excited to join student and professional organizations while at Mizzou, something this scholarship allows me to do,” Alferink said in a statement. “I am excited to see where these next four years take me.”

At Burleson’s Centennial High School, Nakamura founded the school’s Model United Nations, with work that included research, collaboration, and fundraising. He also launched a local chapter of the Toastmasters International Youth Leadership Program, winning multiple awards at its Four Way Speech Contest. He received an AP Scholar with Honors award and competed as an athlete on the varsity cross country and track and field teams. Nakamura will pursue a business degree at the University of Texas at Austin.

Nakamura expressed appreciation to GFWAR members for the scholarship.

“I hope to make {them} proud in college, and I am excited to see what comes next,” Nakamura said in a statement.

Purselley, while at Southwest Christian School in Fort Worth, was a member of the National Honor Society. She also played on her school’s volleyball and golf teams. Community service is among her interests, and she has organized community clean-up events and volunteered at a local shelter. Purselley is headed to the University of Arkansas in the fall where she will study business finance.

Realtors Aid Education

The GFWAR Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 2018 to assist students in the greater Fort Worth area. Since 2020, the scholarship program has helped 19 students with their educational pursuits.

GFWAR was established a century earlier to represent the Fort Worth area. The group’s mission is to advocate for property rights, fair housing opportunities, professionalism, and ethics within the real estate industry.

Applications for the 2025 Educational Foundation Scholarship will be available early next year. For more information, visit the Educational Foundation webpage.