By Jana Cunningham

The University of Utah’s Graduate School celebrated 25 years of Steffensen Cannon scholars, Thursday, April 30 at a special event at Rice Eccles Stadium. Established in 1989, the scholarship has enabled more than 500 students to pursue excellence in their chosen fields of education and humanities.

Students and alumni like Amy Bergerson, professor of educational leadership at the U, have greatly benefited from the scholarship fund, which continues to help students complete their undergraduate and graduate studies.

Bergerson credits the scholarship to enabling her to complete her doctorate as a full-time student. For the past 12 years she has advised doctoral students and watched them go on to become faculty members, administrators in higher education and policy experts.

In 2008, the Steffensen Cannon scholarship helped Santos Marquez become the first college graduate in his large family. Growing up in poverty in Mexico with 15 siblings, Marquez never imagined he would attend college, but now has a degree in education and teaches bilingual students.

The Steffensen Cannon Scholarship awards $10,000 to undergraduate students and $16,000 to graduate students in the colleges of education and humanities and is renewable for one year. Twelve to fifteen awards are given annually. Visit the website to apply.

Jana Cunningham is a communications specialist at University Marketing and Communications. If you have an interesting story idea, email her at jana.cunningham@utah.edu.