AC receives $500,000 from ECU for STEM scholarships

Brianna Maestas, Amarillo Globe-News
·4 min read

Amarillo College (AC) received a $500,000 donation from the Education Credit Union Foundation (ECU) to benefit Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) scholarships, as announced during a Tuesday afternoon check presentation held in the AC STEM Research Center.

As announced at the presentation, the half-million dollar donation will benefit five $100,000 scholarships for students pursuing a STEM related degree or certificate.

"Anything we can do in our community to further education, to allow students to gain knowledge, we are all for it. ... From a community standpoint and just how do we help a lot of the time, it is money, and so we help by creating these scholarships, but also we look at how to be more impactful, so we create partnerships and ways to try to go above and beyond," ECU CEO/President and ECU Foundation Board President Marcus Smith said.

ECU CEO/President and ECU Foundation Board President Marcus Smith presents the $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment to Amarillo College's (AC) Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Joe Bill Sherrod, at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in the AC STEM Research Center.
ECU CEO/President and ECU Foundation Board President Marcus Smith presents the $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment to Amarillo College's (AC) Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Joe Bill Sherrod, at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in the AC STEM Research Center.
ECU CEO/President and ECU Foundation Board President Marcus Smith announces their $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment to Amarillo College (AC) at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in the AC STEM Research Center.
ECU CEO/President and ECU Foundation Board President Marcus Smith announces their $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment to Amarillo College (AC) at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in the AC STEM Research Center.

In recognition of the gift, AC also revealed at the presentation a newly co-branded primary learning space located in the STEM Research Center as the ECU Foundation STEM Lab. Both the ECU and the ECU Foundation are featured in the co-branded room.

According to AC's Distinguished Research Scientist and chemistry professor Asanga Ranasinghe, this endowment will not only allow AC to further current students' education but also retain more students and further them financially as they transfer from AC to a university.

"This will be good encouragement for our students to continue their studies and research in the STEM field, where there aren't many scholarship opportunities. At Amarillo College, we only have two years, really, to interact with the students, so time is always a critical factor, and this will make sure the students can focus on their educational goal within STEM and have less of a burden when it comes to financial help," Ranasinghe said.

Amarillo College's (AC) interim President, Denese Skinner, speaks on behalf of AC and accepts the $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment from the ECU Foundation at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in the newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in the AC STEM Research Center.
Amarillo College's (AC) interim President, Denese Skinner, speaks on behalf of AC and accepts the $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment from the ECU Foundation at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in the newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in the AC STEM Research Center.
Amarillo College's (AC) Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Joe Bill Sherrod, accepts the $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment from the ECU Foundation at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in the newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in the AC STEM Research Center.
Amarillo College's (AC) Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Joe Bill Sherrod, accepts the $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment from the ECU Foundation at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in the newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in the AC STEM Research Center.

Students selected to be part of AC’s STEM Scholars Program will major in one of the following disciplines: biology, chemistry, computer science, data science, drafting, engineering, horticulture, mathematics or physics.

Through the STEM Scholars Program, 15 first-year and 15 second-year students will receive approximately $4,500 in aid per year for up to 60 credit hours at AC. While students’ financial need will be considered, the awards will not be solely based on need; meritorious accomplishments supported by strong references at the high school and/or career levels will be strongly considered.

According to current AC STEM student and AC STEM scholarship recipient Jesus Marquez, who is perusing a mechanical engineering degree, this donation has not only helped him in pursuing his future, but it will also allow AC to further their assistance to other AC STEM students seeking a degree.

"This means the world for me to have received this scholarship, and I feel it will mean the same for incoming students. New doors will open, because financial problems is an obstacle when pursuing your dreams and career. This scholarship will remove an obstacle and create more reliable opportunities for students," Marquez said.

Education Credit Union CEO/President and ECU Foundation Board President Marcus Smith announces their $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment to Amarillo College (AC) at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in the newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in AC's STEM Research Center.
Education Credit Union CEO/President and ECU Foundation Board President Marcus Smith announces their $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment to Amarillo College (AC) at a check presentation Tuesday afternoon in the newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab in AC's STEM Research Center.
The Education Credit Union Foundation presents the $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment to Amarillo College (AC) and unveils the newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab located in the AC STEM Research Center during a Tuesday afternoon check presentation.
The Education Credit Union Foundation presents the $500,000 STEM scholarship endowment to Amarillo College (AC) and unveils the newly named ECU Foundation STEM Lab located in the AC STEM Research Center during a Tuesday afternoon check presentation.

During the event, the ECU president also announced their upcoming opening of a full-service ECU branch to be run by AC students, located on the AC Washington Street campus and set to be opened in 2024.

"With Amarillo College, this will just further our community involvement with them. ... Once we open our Amarillo College ECU Branch, the students will be able to run the branch and learn hands on experience and put their knowledge to work. So, this has all been fun for Education Credit Union, both with the endowment and the upcoming branch. We are just looking to further education," Smith said.

Tuesday's gift is earmarked to augment the STEM Scholars Program, a key element in AC’s $45 million comprehensive fundraising campaign, Badger Bold. The STEM Scholars Program is an initiative conceived to establish 30 endowed scholarships of $100,000 each, funding intended to attract the area’s brightest STEM scholars.

Through ECU Foundation’s contribution of five endowed scholarships, AC and its supporters have now funded 19 of the 30 envisioned scholarships.

For more information about AC or to make a donation to Badger Bold, visit them online at https://www.actx.edu/ .

To learn more about ECU, visit them online at https://www.educationcu.com/ .

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: ECU Foundation donates $500,000 to AC STEM scholarships