STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Scholarship recipients and the donors who support their educational journeys came together Saturday, Nov. 7, for Tarleton State University\u2019s 35th annual Academic Scholarship Luncheon, celebrating academic achievement and the lasting impact of philanthropy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Held in the Barry B. Thompson Student Center ballrooms, the event continued a longstanding tradition of bringing students and supporters together to share their experiences, build meaningful connections and recognize the generosity helping make educational opportunities possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the things I appreciate most about this luncheon is the opportunity it creates for our donors and students to connect personally,\u201d said Tony Vidmar, Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the Tarleton State Foundation. \u201cOur donors have the chance to meet the students whose educational journeys they are helping make possible. And our students can personally thank the individuals who have invested in their futures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tarleton State President Dr. James Hurley recognized scholarship supporters for their generosity and congratulated students on their academic achievements, emphasizing the opportunities higher education creates for future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two scholarship recipients shared their experiences and reflected on the opportunities made possible through donor support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alyssa Thompson, a graduate student in exercise science from Frisco, is the recipient of the Flora Foust Graduate Scholarship. Thompson shared how scholarship support helped her balance her education and motherhood as she pursued her goal of becoming a teacher and coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe generosity has impacted me, but its impact won\u2019t stop with me,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cIt will reach the students I teach, the athletes I coach, the child I\u2019m raising and the countless people those lives touch in return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Madelyn \u201cMaddie\u201d Hammonds, a senior biomedical science major from Little River-Academy, received the Louise and Tommy Thompson Presidential Honors Scholarship. Set to graduate in December, Hammonds reflected on how financial support allowed her to pursue undergraduate research, gain teaching experience and prepare for pharmacy school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy scholarships haven\u2019t just given me the opportunity to receive an education. They\u2019ve given me the freedom to make the most of it,\u201d Hammonds said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scholarships provide support to help students manage education expenses as they work toward their academic and professional goals. The annual luncheon gives recipients an opportunity to personally thank the individuals and families who have invested in their success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Scholarship recipients and the donors who support their educational journeys came together Saturday, Nov. 7, for Tarleton State University\u2019s 35th annual Academic Scholarship Luncheon, celebrating academic achievement …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595,"featured_media":55867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":382,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,422],"tags":[436,437,438,440,441,439,449,450,452,469,456],"class_list":["post-55866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-morestories","tag-college-of-agriculture-natural-resources","tag-college-of-education","tag-college-of-graduate-studies","tag-college-of-liberal-fine-arts","tag-college-of-science-mathematics","tag-division-of-health-sciences","tag-institutional-advancement","tag-leadership-military","tag-mayfield-college-of-engineering","tag-our-impact","tag-stephenville"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"jpartin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/jpartin\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/11\/Annual-Scholarship-Luncheon-300x200.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","_morestories<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","_morestories<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["College of Agriculture & Natural Resources<\/a>","College of Education<\/a>","College of Graduate Studies<\/a>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/a>","College of Science & Mathematics<\/a>","Division of Health Sciences<\/a>","Institutional Advancement<\/a>","Leadership and Military<\/a>","Mayfield College of Engineering<\/a>","Our Impact<\/a>","Stephenville<\/a>"],"unlinked":["College of Agriculture & Natural Resources<\/span>","College of Education<\/span>","College of Graduate Studies<\/span>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/span>","College of Science & Mathematics<\/span>","Division of Health Sciences<\/span>","Institutional Advancement<\/span>","Leadership and Military<\/span>","Mayfield College of Engineering<\/span>","Our Impact<\/span>","Stephenville<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 7 hours ago","modified":"Updated 7 hours ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on November 9, 2026","modified":"Updated on November 9, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on November 9, 2026 9:00 am","modified":"Updated on November 9, 2026 9:01 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55866"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55868,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55866\/revisions\/55868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}