Jase Wicker, a Kinesiology major from Lonoke, is among a population of students who are sometimes overlooked in the scholarship awarding process.
Wicker is not a first-generation college student. He has two parents who work full time, but also has two younger brothers who are still at home. “We are a middle-class family,” he said. “My mom is an educator who is still paying her own school loans. I feel like families like ours are often skipped over, but we work really hard for what we have. I make good grades, but I am not at the top of the class, so scholarships have been minimum. I guess what I am saying is that we are ‘average,’ often looked over, but still could sure use some help.”
Wicker has been actively involved on campus and in the community during his time at UCA. He attends sporting and other events, volunteers at school and community events and is active in his fraternity, Sigma Tau Gamma. He also works parttime during the semester and fulltime during breaks to help pay the balance of his tuition.
This past year, Wicker’s involvement in his fraternity led to an unexpected scholarship award. He received the H.B. Hardy Jr. Scholarship through the UCA Foundation. The late Dr. H.B. Hardy Jr. was a 1948 graduate, a member – and later adviser – of the Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity, and a long-time employee having retired in 1992. Fraternity members established the scholarship in his honor in 1986 and it was first awarded in 1995 after reaching endowment. Hardy passed away in 2017 and left his estate to the UCA Foundation to support his scholarship fund to continue providing aid to students.
Wicker is determined to succeed no matter what, but the H.B. Hardy Jr. Scholarship has helped alleviate some of the stressors that come with college. His message to all who have donated to this scholarship: “Thank you so much for your generosity! Your donations are very much appreciated and will definitely help with my future success.”
Learn more about UCA Foundation scholarships at uca.edu/foundation/scholarships/.
Learn more about ways to support UCA at uca.edu/giving/.