Established in Loving Memory · Perry, Georgia

The Hervia & Catherine
Ingram Scholarship Fund

Honoring two lifetimes of teaching — by funding the next generation of Black students pursuing degrees in STEM, agricultural science, and education at HBCUs and beyond.

Apply for the Scholarship Make a Gift Read Their Story
Hervia M. Ingram, Sr.
Hervia M. Ingram, Sr. Educator · Mentor · Leader
Archival portrait of Catherine Holmes Ingram
Catherine Holmes Ingram Educator · Stewardess · Mother
Together — A Lifetime of Partnership
Hervia and Catherine Ingram in formal portrait
Hervia and Catherine Ingram at a civic event
62+
Combined Years in Education
3
Generations of Educators
$10K
Annual Award Per Recipient
100%
Goes Directly to Tuition
Their Legacy

Two Lives Devoted to Teaching

The Ingrams built their lives in Middle Georgia on a single belief — that education is the surest path to dignity, opportunity, and impact.

The Bridge Builder

Hervia M. Ingram, Sr.

Educator · Civic Leader · Bridge Builder

The eldest of sixteen children, Hervia Sr. was the first in his family to attend college, earning his B.S., M.S., and EDS at Fort Valley State and Tuskegee. He taught agricultural science at Houston County Training School, Perry Junior High, the Houston Vocational Center, and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural Center — always rising into leadership.

He served as Perry's Mayor Pro-Tem and on the City Council, helped bring the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agri-center to Perry, and was a quiet, effective voice for unity during the civil rights era. He gave back to the very land that fed his family.

In farming as in life, you cannot constantly take without giving — or you will damage the very thing that sustains you.
The Virtuous Woman

Catherine Holmes Ingram

March 29, 1937 — Educator · Stewardess

Born in Sparks, Georgia and a salutatorian of Cook County Training School, Catherine earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Morris Brown College — where she fell in love with the color of royalty, purple. She married Hervia Sr. on June 12, 1960.

For thirty-one years she shaped young minds in the Houston County School System, first as a beloved teacher at Perry Jr. High, then as an administrator. At St. James CME Church she served as a Stewardess and on the Missionary board — the right hand of every pastor she served beside.

Let the life I've lived speak for me.
From the Archive

The Work, in Their Own Time

Photographs from the Ingram family archive — the classrooms, the students, and the chapters of Black agricultural education that Hervia M. Ingram, Sr. helped write.

Five young Black men in New Farmers of America jackets reviewing a document with their instructor
New Farmers of America

Students, Soil, and the Long Work of Teaching

Hervia Sr. with NFA students reviewing the chapter records — a quiet record of what it looked like to mentor the next generation, page by page.

Forestry Field Day Winners — historical group photo of Black NFA students and their advisor
Forestry Field Day Winners

A Championship Generation

The Forestry Field Day winners — Hervia Sr.'s students competed and won at the state level, building confidence as well as skill.

Archival photograph of three young Black professionals reviewing a document together
Houston County Schools

The Office, Where Lives Were Shaped

In Catherine's school office, the small daily acts of teaching — reading transcripts, choosing futures, taking time with each student.

Hervia M. Ingram, Jr. at the New York Stock Exchange
Hervia M. Ingram, Jr. — New York Stock Exchange
From the Founder

Why I Started This Scholarship

I was raised by two teachers. My father taught agricultural science to generations of young men in Houston County. My mother sat in a small school office and decided, one student at a time, that someone's child would have a chance.

Everything I have built — three decades in technology, the company I co-founded, the standing to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange — traces back to that office and that classroom. My parents did not have money to give. They gave time, attention, and the unshakeable belief that a Black child's mind was worth investing in.

This scholarship is the arithmetic they taught me: one teacher, one student, one decision — multiplied across years and lives. We are doing what they did, with more leverage and the means to scale it.
Hervia M. Ingram, Jr.
Founder & Son
Career Co-Founder & Vice President of Information Technology, Xtreme Solutions, Inc. — 30+ years in cybersecurity, risk, and strategic technology leadership.
Service Mentors youth robotics through Omega Psi Phi, Inc. (Atlanta); coaches veterans in civilian transition; advocates for women veterans.
Education M.S. in Computer Science, Stevens Institute of Technology · CISSP Certification.
Our Mission

To carry forward the Ingrams' lifelong commitment to education by removing financial barriers for Black students pursuing degrees in science, agriculture, and education — fields the Ingrams taught, championed, and lived.

I.
Cultivate
Fund the future scientists, farmers, and engineers who will feed and protect our communities — just as Mr. Ingram's work sustained his.
II.
Educate
Support tomorrow's classroom teachers and school leaders — the calling Mrs. Ingram answered for thirty-one years in Houston County.
III.
Elevate
Build bridges between generations, between disciplines, and between opportunity and the students who need it most.
Eligibility & Award

Who We Fund

Awarded annually to graduating high-school seniors and current undergraduates who reflect the Ingrams' commitment to scholarship, service, and stewardship.

2026 Award
$10,000/yr
Renewable for up to four years upon maintained academic standing.
Recipients