Making a better community for Greater Oklahoma.

About Carolyn

Carolyn Watson was a woman of action and understood the value of blessing others with the gifts she was given. The longtime chair and CEO of Shamrock Bancshares wanted to improve the quality of life for the residents living in the rural southern Oklahoma communities where her banks are located. Born in Ada, Okla., and a graduate of East Central University, Carolyn knew well where the needs and opportunities existed. In 1995, she established the Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation and in 2010, the Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship. Through these permanent endowment funds at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation she has provided teaching enhancements for classrooms, community literacy programs at public libraries and scholarships for students in designated rural Oklahoma communities. Carolyn died on March 17, 2014 at the age of 86. She leaves behind a truly meaningful legacy that will benefit future generations of rural Oklahomans.

Grants & Scholarships

Classroom Enhancement Grants

Designed to enhance and enrich learning opportunities for students in rural Oklahoma, classroom enhancement grants are awarded to pre-K through 12th-grade classrooms for projects focusing on STEM, Literacy, History and Arts & Culture.

Community Grants

Designed to improve the quality of life in rural Oklahoma, community grants are awarded to qualified nonprofit organizations or entities of state and local government for projects and programs that will positively impact designated communities in the areas of 1) Arts/Culture/History, 2) Libraries/Literacy, 3) Health & Safety and 4) Economic Development. 

Opportunities Scholarship Program

The Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship was designed to help individual students graduating from Oklahoma’s rural high schools. To qualify, students must attend high school in one of 62 rural Oklahoma counties, have financial need and have demonstrated academic ability based upon a minimum grade point average of 3.25.


Questions?

Please email us at info@ruraloklahoma.org.


– Cricket Kaya, Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship recipient

I’m about to graduate, and I’m considering law school. I don’t think that I would have been able to consider that next step if not for the Carolyn Watson Scholarship.

– Prairie Kaya, Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship recipient

A lot of kids in my town don’t get to go to college, so for me to be able to pursue my dreams of advocacy and research and playwriting, the Carolyn Watson Scholarship has changed the course of my life.

– Michaela Metts, Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship recipient

It really lives up to its name. You can take it anywhere and use it on any portion of your education. It’s truly an opportunity, and I will be forever grateful for the confidence it has given me in life.

– John Wilguess, Oklahoma Dental Foundation, Community Grant recipient

As we looked at our ability to take our Mobile Smiles program around the state, we realized that going into rural communities – to smaller towns across Oklahoma – had to be a hallmark of what we were doing. The Carolyn Watson Foundation has made that absolutely possible.

– Michaela Metts, Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship recipient

I never dreamed I would actually receive the scholarship. I had a summer internship lined up at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, so I talked about that in my interview, and I guess it went well. When they called me and told me I got it, I couldn’t stop crying.

– Natalie Evans, Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship recipient

The scholarship has provided me with so many opportunities, I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for the way this scholarship impacted my educational and professional journeys.

– Scott Parks, Superintendent, Howe Public Schools, Classroom Grant recipient

This grant allows our school system to build our unique learning opportunities outside of the classroom and actively engage students in STEM learning concepts.

– Kyrstan Glasco, Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship recipient

The award has been a tremendous help for me. Receiving this award three years in a row has shown me that hard work pays off, and it gives me the incentive to do well in college.

– Chase Chamberlain, Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship recipient

I did not have a passion for learning unitl my experience here. I was a simple kid, from a normal background, that wanted nothing more in life than what I had already been exposed to. Looking back, I cannot imagine my life if I had not received and taken advantage of this opportunity.