The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office was able to award 54 scholarships to employees or their family.

"We were able to give all of our 54 applicants one $1,000 scholarships to advance their education," Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra said.

The scholarships were awarded on Thursday. Guerra says the scholarship is an important benefit.

"Education is not cheap. I know the value of education, I stressed it to my children and I stress it to my staff. We're so fortunate to be able to give these scholarships to our staff and their children," Guerra said.

The sheriff says the scholarship money came from the Wyatt Ranches Foundation. They've been donating for the past five years to make these scholarships happen.