Locals graduate as MSU Hilleman Scholars
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From MSU News Service
BOZEMAN — Nineteen Montana State University students will graduate this spring after taking part in the Hileman Scholars Program, which was created at MSU in 2016 to provide academic opportunities to Montana students who might not otherwise have considered a college education.
“This is our largest graduating class” of MSU Hilleman Scholars, said Carina Beck, vice provost and head of MSU’s Allen Yarnell Center for Student Success, who noted that this class began attending MSU during the COVID-19 pandemic. “They are a resilient group of students who came to MSU to further their education and futures.”
MSU Hilleman Scholars are selected each year based on personal essays, nomination letters, grades and financial need. Paramount in the selection process is evidence of significant academic achievement, leadership, and career potential. MSU’s goal for the program is to advance these qualities, ultimately to help benefit the state, said Beck.
The MSU Hilleman Scholars Program is named in honor of MSU alumnus Maurice Hilleman, the famed microbiologist originally from Miles City. A scholarship to MSU started Hilleman down a scientific path that eventually led to the development of dozens of vaccines, including ones for measles, mumps, and hepatitis A and B.
Hilleman Scholars are eligible for up to $6,500 in academic support for their first year and $4,000 per year thereafter. If they make satisfactory academic progress and demonstrate exemplary commitment to the program in their first three years, scholars may become eligible for an additional $3,000 at the end of their junior year to apply toward a study-abroad experience. Hilleman Scholars are expected to graduate in four years.
Below is the list of local Hilleman graduates, their hometowns and their majors:
Brittania Castillo, Polson, sociology, and psychology.
Joclynn Zimmerer, Polson, associate degree program.
