ALPINE- Seven graduate students at the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) at Sul Ross State University have been selected to receive $46,500 in scholarships from seven different sources, including the first ever scholarship awarded from the Wes and Victoria Bannister Scholarship and the Wayne and JoAnn Moore Endowed Scholarship.
SCHOLARSHIP SOURCE STUDENT
Wes and Victoria Bannister Scholarship Caleb Hughes
Wes and Victoria Bannister Scholarship Olivia Gray
Wayne & JoAnn Moore Endowed Scholarship Maya Ressler
Virginia Matthews Law Scholarship Leanna (Lilly) Morin
Franklin and Virginia Law Scholarship Brooke Bowman
West Texas Safari Club Scholarship Erin O’Connell
Dan L. Duncan Scholarship (Houston Safari Club) Preston McKee
Dan L. Duncan Scholarship (Houston Safari Club) Olivia Gray
Dan L. Duncan Scholarship (Houston Safari Club) Erin O’Connell
Dan L. Duncan Scholarship (Houston Safari Club) Maya Ressler
Wildlife Graduate Student Scholarship of the Southwest Olivia Gray Section of The Wildlife Society
This year’s scholarship recipients at Borderlands Research Institute include (from left) Maya Ressler, Leann “Lilly” Morin, Preston McKee, Erin O’Connell, Caleb Hughes, and Brooke Bowman.
The Wes and Victoria Bannister Scholarship was established by the Bannisters’ family after their passing. The Bannisters were longtime residents of Alpine who loved the natural beauty and ecological diversity of the region. They passionately supported wildlife conservation and philanthropy in the region, and their family honors their legacies with a permanent endowment fund plus annual student scholarships to the Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University.
The Wayne and JoAnn More Scholarship was established by the Wayne and JoAnn Moore Charitable Foundation in Midland. Wayne and JoAnn placed considerable emphasis on education and saw it as a path to a fulfilling life. To that end, the foundation has established a number of endowed scholarships at various colleges and universities, most recently at the Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University.
“We are very grateful to the Bannister and Moore families and their support of our students that will be felt far into the future,” said Dr. Louis Harveson, who is the Dan Allen Hughes, Jr., BRI Endowed Director at Sul Ross State University. “Our students are working hard to finish up their degrees, and many take out loans as they work on their classwork and thesis projects. These scholarships are an investment in the future, and we are grateful for the support of these fine organizations and donors.”