2026 Winner of The Butler/McDaniel Memorial Scholarship

Amber Cavnar

Amber Cavnar is the 2026 winner of the Butler/McDaniel Memorial Scholarship. While Amber has lived in multiple towns in Texas, she considers Conroe home. One experience that profoundly revealed the support, connection, and compassion woven throughout this town was the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and the community’s recovery in its aftermath.

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By definition, a hometown is one where an individual is born or childhood upbringing. By this definition, my hometown would be Cypress, Texas. While without a doubt Cypress left an impact on my childhood, I would rather give the credits to Conroe, Texas, because while I wasn't born here, nor was I raised here from the beginning of my life, Conroe showed me what a hometown was meant to feel like through the actions of its community.

Conroe showed me what a hometown was meant to feel like during hurricane Harvey. At this time, it had just been my mother and I, living in a small apartment close to the freeway, which was also close to a huge creek. When we heard news of hurricane Harvey coming to hit directly on top of our town, we thought that maybe it was an exaggeration. However when the storm did come, we realized quickly that we were wrong. Conroe had been completely flooded from the hurricane, causing immense damage and destruction, whether it came to businesses, homes, or places people held heart to, the storm had completely caused utter chaos for the city of Conroe. When my mother and I woke up the morning after the storm had passed, our entire complex area was flooded, preventing us from being able to leave. As a young child, seeing this much destruction was so overwhelming and horrifying that I thought it would never go away. Luckily, my mother and I were able to leave the apartment complex with the help of my mothers friend who had owned a truck, which was able to get through the high waters. When we had left the apartment complex, I thought the streets would be quiet and barren. However, once we had gotten out onto the road, I saw much the opposite. We had witnessed more than a dozen boats, helping animals and individuals who were stuck on their roofs, unable to leave due to the flood. These boats were helping anyone they could, even if it meant risking their lives since the powerlines had fallen in the water. After my mother and I were finally able to get to a safe spot, we had turned on the news and realized the number of individuals helping others in Conroe were greater than we’d ever imagined. I had never seen such a strong sense of unity and urge to want to help others you didn’t even know before, even seeing people save animals was a shocker for myself. It was beyond comprehension, because even though everyone had suffered in different ways, we were all going through it together.

Conroe had shown me what it meant to be a hometown, and it's not just by the definition of a hometown, it was the purpose that city served towards your life. Regardless if I hadn’t been born or raised in Conroe, I understood the greatness and integrity of the individuals who resided in the community. I had learned that day after hurricane Harvey that the community and unity within a city is what made it my hometown that day.