More than 300 individuals recognized with awards for the 2023 to 2024 academic year
EVANSTON — Supporting academic excellence at the undergraduate and graduate level, the Sigma Chi Foundation announced today it will award $463,300 in academic scholarship awards for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
Approximately 306 undergraduate and graduate brothers, as well as four sweethearts representing 120 chapters across North America, will receive awards this fall.
At the conclusion of this year’s award cycle, the Sigma Chi Foundation will have awarded $4,893,300 in academic scholarships since the 2013 to 2014 academic year.
“We are pleased to honor and recognize another deserving group of brothers and sweethearts in support of their academic endeavors,” said Sigma Chi Foundation President John Price, OKLAHOMA STATE 1991. “Thanks to the contribution of brothers, sweethearts and friends across North America, we are making a difference in the lives of our members across North America.”
Scholarships are reviewed by a group of more than 70 individuals including members of the Foundation Board of Governors and alumni volunteers at large.
The Foundation’s Grant and Scholarship Committee, with support of Foundation Executive Assistant and Scholarship Administrator Heidi Holley in Evanston, review recommendations and determine awards via a thorough process.
Annual Foundation scholarship awards include the prestigious International Balfour and International Sweetheart awards as well as the Sigma Chi Foundation’s Founders’ Scholarship and the Sigma Chi Military Service Scholarship, awarded to seven brothers with combat experience.
Eleven new donor-scholarship awards made their debuts this fall, including memorial scholarships honoring the lives of Ethan Chapin, IDAHO 2025, and Walker Fielder, MISSISSIPPI 2024, who entered the Chapter Eternal following tragic events in 2022.
Additionally, Sigma Chi awarded the first Allen Family Academic Scholarships. Supported by Significant Sig Greg Allen, VANDERBILT 1984, and his family, the initiative is the first in Sigma Chi history to provide a renewable $10,000 award for qualified first-generation student applicants over the course of their undergraduate tenure.
This year also saw the first scholarship awarded through the Foundation’s partnership with Folds of Honor, which provides academic scholarships to spouses and children of Sigma Chi veterans who have fallen or been disabled during their service.
Folds of Honor was able to award a $2,500 academic scholarship to Aden Pugsley, the daughter of Brett Pugsley, GEORGIA TECH 1995.
While the Foundation is proud to continue to award more scholarship funds, on average, than any other men’s Greek-letter organization, the application cycle revealed the need for additional financial support for our undergraduate members.
Sigma Chi received a record 1,018 applications from undergraduate and graduate brothers representing 209 of its 231 active chapters and 10 associate chapters last spring.
In an era where the costs of college tuition, fees and living expenses are greater than at any point in our organization’s history, the Foundation is launching an inaugural $100,000 campaign to benefit the General Academic Scholarship Fund and support members from undergraduate chapters who are not eligible for Bell Chapter or chapter-specific Donor-Scholarship awards.
“We are proud to continue our efforts, but the recent application cycle revealed there is still work to be done and Sigma Chi needs the support of our alumni brothers and friends,” said Price. “Whether it’s $5 or $100, every contribution to our special General Academic Scholarship campaign helps us award more deserving students and shows them that we understand the financial burden they face on our college campuses across North America.”
To learn more about this special initiative, visit https://sigmachi.org/scholarshipfund.
To review a complete list of our 2023 to 2024 academic scholarship recipients, visit https://sigmachi.org/scholarship-recipients.
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2023 to 2024 SCHOLARSHIPS OVERVIEW
Undergraduate Awards
- Of the 279 undergraduate awards, 135 will be issued to brothers via donor-scholarship initiatives and 139 brothers will receive scholarships through the Thomas Cowan Bell Chapter Challenge.
- Additionally, four undergraduate sweethearts will be rewarded through the Foundation’s Sweetheart Scholarship Fund.
Graduate Awards
- Eighteen (18) brothers will be issued graduate awards in a variety of fields, including business, international business, engineering, medicine, law, and media, arts and communications.
Military Awards
- Seven brothers, who have served their country’s military through combat deployments, received awards to support their academic endeavors.
Miscellaneous Awards
- The Foundation issued seven additional awards and academic grants to recipients of the International Fraternity’s International Balfour Award, International Sweetheart, Daniel William Cooper Award and Legion of Honor chapters.
- Folds of Honor, through its partnership with the Foundation, issued the first academic scholarship award benefiting a spouse or child of a fallen or disabled Sigma Chi veteran.
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SPECIAL AWARDS
2023 to 2024 FOUNDERS’ SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT ($10,000 AWARD)
Reed Ofsthun, IDAHO 2024
Founder Isaac M. Jordan Scholarship, in memory of John Thumel, NORTHWESTERN 2015
A major in Mechanical Engineering, Ofsthun holds a 3.71 GPA entering his senior year.
Along with his academic success, having obtained the Dean’s List on four occasions, Ofsthun was recommended by the University of Idaho’s Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Nick O’Neal for his leadership across the school’s fraternity/sorority community and within the Gamma Eta chapter following the tragic events in Moscow, Idaho last November.
Wrote O’Neal: “When tragedy struck our community, Reed stepped forward and answered the unsettling call to provide support, leadership, and compassion to his members, setting aside his own personal needs to care for others. He worked each day to empower his members and others to seek help, navigate through their grieving process, and take quick action to ensure the continued safety and wellbeing of those around them.”
Ofsthun has also served the Gamma Eta as Risk Manager and IFC Representative, attended Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit and has given back on campus as a recruitment specialist and is an active member of various other clubs on campus including the University of Idaho Bass Club. Post-graduation, he plans to work for a military connected organization such as the Department of Defense or Homeland Security to better improve the military weapons systems and equipment of American servicemen and women.
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2023 to 2024 MILTARY SERVICE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Awardees (Listed alphabetically) receive their designated amounts for the present academic calendar year.
$1,250 AWARDS
Sgt. Mark Eagleton, OKLAHOMA 2023
A major in Accounting, Eagleton holds a 3.2 GPA at the University of Oklahoma. Prior to attending college, he was honorably discharged as Sergeant within the United States Marine Corps, with whom he served for four years including two tours of duty across the Middle East and Asia. He is a two-time recipient of the Sigma Chi Military Scholarship.
As an older active brother within the Beta Kappa chapter, and a Sigma Chi legacy, Eagleton has served as a member of the chapter’s executive team and as a leadership mentor during the Preparation for Brotherhood program utilizing his experience during his service to encourage young men to achieve their goals.
He has earned mention on the Dean’s and President’s Honor Roll and has been honored with six scholarship awards, including this one. Upon graduation in the spring, he plans to pursue a master’s in accounting and earn a CPA certification.
Sgt. Benjamin Hanks, WILLAMETTE 2018
A 2018 Psychology graduate at Willamette and Master of Arts graduate at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, Hanks is presently attaining his Doctorate in Psychology with long-term goals including work to improve mental health treatment among veterans. He is a four-time recipient of the Sigma Chi Military Scholarship.
Hanks was honorably discharged as a Sergeant within the United States Army where he participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom from both Kuwait and Baghdad. He received multiple awards, including two Army Commendation Medals, during his service. During his service, he was stationed in Germany and also spent 14 months in the United States Army National Guard working for the 187th AVCRAD aviation unit out of Fresno, California.
During his two years at Willamette, Hanks served his chapter as Kustos, Judicial Board President and Community Service Chair. As alumni, he’s served as Chapter Advisory Board Member. A now four-time recipient of the Military Service Scholarship, Hanks has been actively involved volunteering within the homeless community in Oregon and also regularly facilitates outdoor activities and mental health education for veterans through the Source One Serenity organization. He also provides therapy services for students and young adults at the Chemawa Indian school in Salem, Oregon.
Capt. Taylor (Jeff) Lockwood, SOUTH FLORIDA 2014
A graduate of both South Florida and Liberty University, Capt. Lockwood is presently attending Harvard University where he is expected to graduate in May 2025 as a Master of Arts in International Relations to further help contribute towards solutions on the international stage. He is a five-time recipient of the Sigma Chi Military Scholarship.
In his ninth year of active-duty service with the United States Army, with six deployments during his career, Lockwood has spent the majority of his service in the airborne and special operations communities. He has led troops in combat in two war zones as well as complex operating environments within Asia. After serving in Afghanistan, he was selected to serve as the first-ever intelligence officer in the 1st Battalion, 5th Security Forces Assistance Brigade, a unit created by the Army specifically focused on training and advising foreign security forces. Lockwood has been honored with more than 20 awards during his service including the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service medals.
At South Florida, Lockwood served the Theta Beta chapter as Consul, Quaestor, Magister, IFC Representative, Philanthropy Chairman and Assistant Magister. He was an intern at J. Dwight Peterson International Fraternity Headquarters and served as an undergraduate representative on several International Fraternity committees. As an alumnus, he has served as a program facilitator, chapter advisory board member and on multiple international committees.
He has volunteered for the United Nations’ Tanzania Development Program, the United Nations’ Ocean Action Campaign and as a volunteer consultant for a private non-profit intelligence firm countering human trafficking in the United States.
$1,000 AWARDS
Cpl. Garrett Clark, TULSA 2026
Clark is in his second year at the University of Tulsa, where he holds a 3.2 GPA in pursuit of a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
He was honorably discharged following four years of service in the United States Marine Corps, where he was deployed twice to the Middle East. Following graduation, he plans to reenlist in the Marine Corps as an officer.
Spc. Montana Hohensee, OKLAHOMA 2024
Hohensee is entering his final year at the University of Oklahoma, where he holds a 3.2 GPA in pursuit of a degree in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics.
He was honorably discharged following eight years of service to the United States Army, where he was deployed to the DMZ in South Korea and across the Middle East, receiving numerous Army medal and certificates of achievement. Following graduation, he plans to pursue a professional engineering license in the state of Oklahoma and establish multiple businesses while employed as an electrical engineer.
SrA Wesley Mory, NORTH TEXAS 2018
Mory is entering his fourth year as a Management Information Systems major at Texas A&M University where he holds a 3.77 GPA.
Presently serving in the United States Air Force Reserves, Mory has attained the rank of Senior Airman in his four years of service including deployments to both Africa and Iraq. He was named 317th Squadron Airman of the Year in 2020 and has receive multiple honors and medals for his ongoing service. Following graduation, he plans to commission in the Air Force Reserve as an intelligence officer and work for Intel Corporation.
$750 AWARD
Sgt. Jungwoo Suh, ROCHESTER 2025
Suh is entering his third year as a Finance major at the University of Rochester where he holds a 3.5 GPA.
A native of Korea, Suh was honorably discharged from the Korean Army where he served a 9.5-month deployment to Lebanon, earning four awards from the Republic of Korea as well as a United Nations Peacekeeping Medal. He plans to pursue a career in finance and investment management to help promote economic growth and development in destressed areas such as Lebanon.
