WT to Memorialize Students Lost in 2022-23 Academic Year

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University flags will fly at half-staff April 28 in honor of students who died during the 2022-23 academic year.

A student memorial service also will be held at 2 p.m. April 28 in the Joseph A. Hill Memorial Chapel on WT’s Canyon campus. A reception will follow in the commons area of the Jack B. Kelley Student Center.

The service and half-staff flags will commemorate the lives of nine students who died during the academic year:

• Mallory Anderson, a senior nursing major from Bridgeport;
• David Batch, a freshman strategic communication major from Hamilton;
• Scott Raines, a graduate student in social work from Amarillo;
• Amanda Soliz, a freshman mechanical engineering major from Amarillo;
• Sarah Haass, an MBA student from San Antonio;
• Jenifer Salinas, a junior criminal justice major from Plainview;
• Blake Loria, a sophomore digital communication and media major from Amarillo;
• Joe Hoot, a senior biology major from Canyon; and
• Jadyn Boyd, a sophomore agriculture education major from Lamesa.

“The Student Government Association places a high importance on ensuring a lasting legacy of our late students,” said student body president Annie Valicek, a junior agribusiness and economics major from Houston. “This ceremony is a time for the campus community to come together and honor the memory of these students. Uniting as one Buffalo family creates an atmosphere of encouragement and inspiration that is truly unmatched.” 

Scholarships of $700 for the 2023-24 academic year will be given by SGA in memory of those nine Buffs to current students in the same field of study:

• Mariela Flores, a senior nursing major from Arlington, in Anderson’s memory;
• Elizabeth Waters, a senior strategic communication major from Amarillo, in Batch’s memory;
• Keila Enciso, a senior social work major from Pampa, in Raines’ memory;
• Emmalee Wood, a junior mechanical engineering major from Lakehills, in Soliz’s memory;
• Lindsey Clements-Acosta, a senior management major from Amarillo, in Haass’ memory;
• Korbyn Oakes, a sophomore criminal justice major from Amarillo, in Salinas’ memory;
• Jordan Conde, a junior digital communication and media major from Dumas, in Loria’s memory;
• Nehemiyah Meresa, a sophomore biology major from Amarillo, in Hoot’s memory; and
• Lyndsey Rangel, a sophomore agriculture education major from Lyford, in Boyd’s memory.

To be eligible for the scholarships, students must be at least sophomores with a 2.5 GPA or higher and be active in extracurricular or community service activities.

Recognition of the lives lost is one way WT demonstrates its values, as outlined in the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021 — has raised more than $120 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WT—