WT Students, Community to Benefit from New Scholarship Established by Panhandle Down Syndrome Guild

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A new scholarship at West Texas A&M University will support students who are committed to working with people with special needs in the Panhandle.

The Panhandle Down Syndrome Guild has endowed a scholarship for students in speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and education who plan to remain in the area and work with residents with intellectual disabilities.

The new scholarship officially will be announced at halftime of the WT football game against Midwestern State University. Kickoff is 6 p.m. in Buffalo Stadium on the WT campus in Canyon. Halftime festivities also will recognize WT’s Where the Learning Continues program, which provides a higher education experience for students with intellectual disabilities, including Down syndrome. Seven of WTLC’s 11 students have Down syndrome.

“WT is pleased to work with the Panhandle Down Syndrome Guild to encourage graduates to remain in the area to help teach and support students with intellectual disabilities and their families,” said Dr. Todd Rasberry, WT vice president for philanthropy and external relations. “This endowment gift directly supports people — the first priority of our historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign.”

A minimum of $1,000 will be awarded annually to one or more qualified students.

The Panhandle Down Syndrome Guild was founded in 2002 by people devoted to creating a better community in the High Plains for people with Down syndrome. It is focused on education, advocacy and networking support for people with Down syndrome and their families.

“This scholarship will go to somebody who has a heart to help people,” said Jay Campbell, one of the guild’s members. “Therapists and teachers are the ones who show up. This is a way for us to give back to those who help our kids.”

Campbell’s daughter Kaylee, a WTLC graduate, will help President Wendler announce the scholarship during the halftime ceremonies.

“The Panhandle Down Syndrome Guild is excited to partner with WT because the University provides some type of training to about 90 percent of all teachers in the region, as well as many of the nurses and therapists who help our members,” said PDSG treasurer Jeff Medford. “WT’s WTLC program helps our members better realize their full potential, and WT has a large voice in the community, helping us to let the community know about our parent support group for people with Down syndrome.

“Working together we can help everyone see we are all more alike than different,” Medford said. “Together we are just better.”

Meeting the diverse needs of the Texas Panhandle is a key goal of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, which is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign.

Photo: Jayden Lesley is a student of West Texas A&M University's Where the Learning Continues. The Panhandle Down Syndrome Guild recently formed a scholarship to help fund the education of therapists and teachers who will work with people with Down syndrome, like Lesley, throughout the Panhandle.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 60 undergraduate degree programs, 40 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WTAMU—