CREATE AN INSPIRING LEGACY
HONOR, CELEBRATE & INSPIRE FUTURE LEADERS
At Brave Enough to Fail, we believe that every legacy has the power to change lives. Create an inspiring legacy with a named scholarship established in honor, or memory of an individual, group, organization, or business. We proudly celebrate the scholarships that are already empowering students — and invite you to join this inspiring tradition by establishing your own. Your scholarship will honor the values and spirit of those you recognize while opening doors of opportunity for future leaders, creators, and achievers.
Honoring Legacies That Inspire Future Leaders
At Brave Enough to Fail, each named scholarship carries forward a legacy of courage, perseverance, and generosity. These scholarships honor individuals and organizations whose lives and values continue to inspire new generations of students to dream boldly and achieve greatly.
Don and Shirley Wilderoter Scholarship
After being on the Gymnastics Team at the University of Illinois, Don joined the marines where he served at the latter part of WWII and in Korea. His career after was a Safety Engineer where he inspected many business including factories and hospitals. His passion however was gymnastics.
When the sport was still part of the AAU Amateur Athletic Union, Don served as National Chairman of Men’s and Women’s Committee for six years. He ran the world team trials from 1959-1970. He was a member of the Olympic committee and served as a judge at US Olympic trials, World Championship Trials, Pan American Trials and a Judge at the pan American games in ‘59 & ‘67 as well as a judge at the 1964 Olympics.
During all this time he was also very involved with gymnastics in New York and was called the Founder of NY States’ Boy’s High
School Gymnastics. He was also Founder of the NY State Women’s High School Gymnastics holding Teachers and Coaches Clinics. Along with those clinics he wrote the Rules for high school gymnastics and also held judges Clinics. He loved running the clinics and working with the kids too. This took him also into the 1980s.
Because of Don’s hard work keeping the sport going at a time when it didn’t have the popularity it does today, he was inducted into the Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1992.
Shirley was a physical therapist and had some nurses training as well when she met Don in California where she was in the nurses corps working at a hospital in LA.
She later on became very involved with music; singing in the choir teaching the junior choir and playing and teaching the accordion, guitar and Piano. She also did public speaking and became very involved with a fraternal youth group that was a service and leadership organization. Working with the youth she enjoyed sharing her philosophies on life. One of them was “you are never to old to learn”.
Besides music another of Shirley’s passions was communication . She explained to her youth group how communication was so very important. One part of that was to LISTEN, you can learn a lot from truly listening to others. The second part was that the MOST powerful tool any of us can have is WORDS .
The words we choose and how we use them and how we say them.
Another philosophy she shared was to always do YOUR personal best, this did not mean you had to be THE best but be YOUR best. These and other philosophies she shared with the youth she mentored to help prepare them to be better leaders and for many, it helped them in the jobs or careers later in life.
Fun fact: When she was with Don at one of the gymnastics meets in the early 60’s she was asked to make an announcement while the “professional” announcer was on break, the gymnasts then went to Don and said why can’t she do the announcing she knows us and we can understand her better. When the first gymnastic Olympic trials were televised on Wide World of Sports, you could hear Shirley’s voice in the background doing the announcing in the gymnasium.
Jeffrey Kile Scholarship Award
A MAN WITH A HEART AS BIG AS THE STATE OF TEXAS
Born in 1961 in San Angelo, Texas to a 5th generation ranching family. The Lipan Creek Ranch has been in the family since 1909.
My first job after high school was as a vertical mill operator making diamond cut drill bits for use in the oil fields and offshore drilling platforms. This lasted for about two years until the housing market crashed in 1984. I was laid off from this position with absolutely no prospects for me in the local job market. It was at this point that I decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy.
Upon completion of basic training, I attended the Navy’s airframes maintenance training school in Millington, TN. I finished in the top ten ranking of the class so I was granted my choice of duty station. I chose Naval Air Station North Island located in San Diego, CA.
I was assigned to Anti-Submarine Squadron 21 which is where I had the fortunate and esteemed luck in meeting Wayne Winsley (Winslow). Wayne (for reasons unknown to me) took me under his wing and began to show me the ropes of working the aircraft line. We developed a strong friendship and bond that lasts to this day.
After leaving the Navy in 1987, I bounced between Texas and San Diego a couple times until somehow I had to presence of mind to enroll myself in the local community college in San Diego. I threw myself into gaining a college education.
This odyssey would last seven years.
I then chose to pursue a degree in International Business and French at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University). After graduation came two attempts at positions that I absolutely hated, then a job as senior sales specialist with Apple Computer in 1998.
After three years I went back to school and earned my masters in International Relations. That degree led eventually to a position within the intelligence bureau of the Department of State where I remained until 2018 when I retired from federal service and moved back to Texas to manage the family ranch.
Now with my 3 degrees, I mend fence line, fight with cows, and run away from rattlesnakes. I am truly blessed to have this in my life.
There are two tings I try to convey to young people every chance that I get.
1: What defines us as human beings is how we deal with adverse situations in our lives.
2: The only limitations we have in life are our own ambition and the willingness to pursue our passions.
For me, once I understood that about myself, I knew that I could accomplish anything that I wanted to do. I’ve proved that to myself time and time again.
My congratulations to each of the students who have crossed this milestone in their lives and learned so much about themselves and gained the personal perspective about themselves that nothing is unattainable.
Thank you all for taking the time to hear my humble words and thank you to Wayne for allowing me to participate.
Best of luck to all.
Jeff Kile
Pro Property Management Scholarship
Growing up in the Bronx, living in affordable housing, and being raised by her young single mom and grandmother, Adrianne Angel learned at a young age that she needed to work hard to get ahead. Through life’s ups and downs, she never lets her circumstances define her future. Moving out of her home before she graduated High School, she was blessed to have good people who saw her potential and reached back to help her when she had no other support.
One organization that had a huge impact is INROADS. They recruited her in High School, then provided the resources and training she needed to prepare for college and secure a corporate internship. After working three part-time jobs while going to college and four INROADS summer internships, she received a full-time offer to work at IBM upon graduation.
Working at IBM, Adrianne was on the Change Management team, which allowed her to travel to different countries for projects. This experience made her appreciate even more the opportunities
available living in the USA. She loved learning and got accepted to a full-time graduate leadership program at Cornell University. Adrianne became the first person in her family to go to an Ivy League school, obtain an MBA degree and then ultimately start her own business.
Adrianne met her husband / business partner, Frank, volunteering at an INROADS training session and now they have three children and two dogs. She would not be where she is today without the mentors that helped her and that is why she is passionate about helping other young people achieve their dreams!
START YOUR OWN SCHOLARSHIP LEGACY
Your story can inspire the next generation. By creating a named scholarship, you honor the people, passions, and values that have shaped your life — and help students achieve their dreams. If you’re interested in sponsoring a scholarship through Brave Enough to Fail, we invite you to complete the form below. Our team will connect with you to explore how you can make a lasting impact.
