fbpx UK College of Engineering Announces 35 Pigman Scholars for 2020-2021 Academic Year | University of Kentucky College of Engineering

UK College of Engineering Announces 35 Pigman Scholars for 2020-2021 Academic Year

April 23, 2020

The scholarships are renewable up to four years and the annual amounts to be given range from $1,000 - $15,000, with 25 of the 35 to receive at least $5,000.

Stanley and Karen Pigman, who have generously funded scholarships for University of Kentucky College of Engineering students for many years, will financially support 35 students from the state of Kentucky with L. Stanley Pigman Engineering Scholarships this upcoming academic year.

The scholarships are renewable up to four years and the annual amounts to be given range from $1,000 - $15,000, with 25 of the 35 to receive at least $5,000. The total amount of scholarship money to be donated is $212,500. Students awarded Pigman Scholarships will also be mentored by the Pigmans.

"I am truly thankful for Stan and Karen’s continued scholarship support,” said Dean Rudy Buchheit. “They invest in our students—not only financially, but also through their mentoring and friendship. Our Pigman Scholars are a testimony to how generous, passionate alumni can change lives. 

The 2020-2021 Pigman Scholars are:

  • Ethan Isaiah Alexander, Tomahawk
  • Shelby L. Breeze, Lexington
  • Hadley Grace Burchett, Olive Hill
  • Trajon Clay Campbell, Hazard
  • Tiffany Helen Coogle, Glendale
  • Catherine Lin Cornwell, Hazard
  • Cameron A. Cusick, Taylorsville
  • Lillian Margaret DeBord, Bowling Green
  • April Dong, Taylorsville
  • Brysen Mitchell Honeycutt, Pine Top
  • Jacob Blaine Hunt, Brodhead
  • William Gerald Johnson, Melbourne
  • Ashbey Nicole Manning, Ashland
  • Grace Marie Martin, Covington
  • Logan Daniel Martin, Whitesburg
  • Sarah Lynn Mattingly, Corydon
  • Rebecca Elizabeth Mays , London
  • Logan William McIntosh , Lexington
  • Darl W. Messer, Somerset
  • Cameron Gregory Parrett, Annville
  • Garret Boyd Putz, Murray
  • Chayton Bryce Ragsdale, Lexington
  • Luke Andrew Ray, Pikeville
  • Anastasia A. Shaverina, Benton
  • William Layne Shepherd , Elizabethtown
  • Thomas A. Snow, Sebree
  • Ryan Christopher Sword, Martin
  • Ashley Gail Vanover, Jenkins
  • James Matthew Watterson, Beattyville
  • Peyton Charles Wesselman, Henderson
  • Clinton  Chase Whitt, West Liberty
  • Alexander Scott Williams, Hellier
  • Connor Daniel Wilson, Williamsburg
  • Trent Michael Woolard, Owensboro

For many high school students in poverty-stricken areas, college is only a dream. The combined cost of tuition, living expenses, books, student fees, etc., threatens to exclude more and more intelligent and hard-working students from receiving an engineering education at the University of Kentucky.

In 1999, Pigman, who received a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering in 1981, determined he would close this gap and began funding scholarships for students whose financial situations would prevent them from attending UK. Since that time, he and his wife, Karen, have financially supported and mentored 120 students through L. Stanley Pigman Scholarships.

Pigman says his motivation stems from the mining engineering scholarship he received that enabled him to come to UK.

“I was helped. Why not give someone else a chance? That’s a lesson we communicate to the students we support as well. One day they will be successful, and we would like them to consider giving back to the college so others can have the same opportunity.”

Students majoring in any of UK’s engineering disciplines are eligible to be Pigman Scholars. To be considered eligible for a Pigman Scholarship, candidates must be a resident of Kentucky and have financial need. They must also fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Preferred counties of residence for this scholarship are coal-producing counties in Eastern and Western Kentucky. However, the college does award outside of these counties.

In addition, Pigman Scholars are required to live in the Engineering Living Learning Program residence hall during their freshman and sophomore years.