The Paul L. & Dorothea A. Wilson Scholarship
Paul L. Wilson was born in Colorado in 1896. He taught grades four through eight at Campion Academy in Loveland, Colorado, and science at Maplewood Academy in Hutchinson, Minnesota, before moving to Southwestern Junior College as registrar in 1947. In all, he spent 18 years of his life in service to Southwestern Junior College. Along with his duties as registrar and then academic dean, Mr. Wilson taught chemistry, science, math, aeronautics, mechanical drawing, and general designing and building. He was assistant to the president in 1952-53, and became chairman of the Industrial Arts Department in 1954. In 1964, he served as interim president for one semester without accepting any pay for the position. Throughout the years he spent at Southwestern Junior College, Mr. Wilson had the respect and love of the students. His door was always open to any student interested in a friend and a confidant. Always one to think of new and innovative ways of teaching, Mr. Wilson and his students built a home as a practical application project for his 1949 general designing/building class.
Mr. Wilson and his wife, Dorothea, had six children, four boys and two girls. Four of those children are graduates of Southwestern, and four grandchildren are also Southwestern Alumni. An energetic and public-spirited man, Mr. Wilson served as mayor of Keene for eight years, from 1958 to 1962, and from 1964 to 1968. Before his tenure, Keene was a dusty town of dirt roads. While he was in office, most of the city's streets were paved.
The Wilsons moved to Amarillo, Texas, in 1976 and remained there until his death in 1982 and hers in 1994. The Paul L. and Dorothea A. Wilson Scholarship was established by their family and friends to fulfill one of Mr. Wilson's dreams to establish a scholarship for students who need a financial boost.
Scholarship award requirements
The scholarship is awarded to students based on academic achievement and financial need who are currently employed.
Paul L. & Dorothea A. Wilson Scholarship
Students Recipients
2020-2021-Lorerthmy Guillen, Luisa Manu
2019-2020 -Nathan Ward, Edan Ward
2018-2019 -Julena Allen
2017-2018 -Gabriella Behrens
2016-2017 - Gabriella Behrens, Grace Njuguna
2015-2016 - Loisbet Castro
2014-2015 - Alexander Cortes
2013-2014 - Myriam Ambriz Barron, Francisco Ortiz
2012-2013 - Raphael Cabrera, Ashley Ludgate
2011-2012 - Carmen Dinu, Kenny Taer
2010-2011 - Henry Calderon, Paul Rugira