|
 Five
Fresno State students are recipients of Verna Mae Brooks Scholarships,
the university’s highest paying non-athletic, four-year scholarship.
Open to students in any academic field, the scholarship is named after
the late wife of Wayne Brooks, professor emeritus of business law at the
Craig School of Business. He endowed the fund in 1997 to celebrate the
legacy of Verna Mae, a community volunteer to whom he was married 40
years.
This year’s recipients include freshman Travis Melton of Bakersfield,
who said the scholarship is “making a big difference” in his first year
at Fresno State. “This was out of Dr. Brooks’ kindheartedness and his
desire to see success in young individuals like myself,” Melton said.
To date, 15 students have received scholarships that can last in excess
of five years.
Current winners (with class standing, hometowns and majors) are as
follows:
Diana Diaz, sophomore, Lompoc, political science and Chicano
studies
Kaitlin Harada, senior, Clovis, business management
Brianne Jackson, junior, Los Banos, health administration
Travis Melton, freshman, Bakersfield, plant science/ornamental
horticulture
Ciana Singh, senior, Elk Grove, marketing
 Recipients
are required to maintain a 3.0 grade point average and perform community
service. The award is in keeping with the sensibilities of Verna Mae, a
strong education proponent and herself the recipient of a four-year
scholarship at the University of Iowa.
“It is Verna Mae’s love of and dedication to learning that is one reason
for the scholarships,” Wayne Brooks said. “Her impact is carried on
through this scholarship. I hope it will lead students to impact society
as this wonderful woman did.”
It’s a call heeded by former recipient Kirstie Hettinga, now a media
ethics lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism.
The award covered the cost of earning dual degrees in mass communication
and journalism and theatre arts. The fund also gave her an additional
year-and-a-half of financial support to pursue her master’s degree in
mass communication.
“By knowing my tuition was covered, I was able to focus exclusively on
my studies – and excel in them,” Hettinga said. “I would not have
graduated as quickly as I did had it not been for the financial support
of Dr. Brooks.”
|
