WT News & Notes | March 2025

CONTACT: Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — Here’s a roundup of the latest news and accomplishments of West Texas A&M University students, faculty and staff.

WT Texas Poets’ Corner Recognizes Student Winners During Night of Celebration

Texas Poets’ Corner honored four West Texas A&M University student authors at its annual spring event March 27 at Cornette Library.

In the annual Jenny Lind Porter poetry contest, Jada Sewell, a senior marketing student from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Jarred Castaneda, a junior accounting student from Amarillo, earned the top two spots. Both received a $1,000 scholarship for the next academic year.

Joshua Copas, a master’s student in history from Floresville, and Mary Freas, a junior history student from Canyon, earned the top awards in the Jenny Lind Porter history essay competition. Copas read a portion of “Material Culture in the Cherokee-Carolinian Borderlands: Precipitating Factors to the Anglo-Cherokee War,” and Freas shared highlights from “The Harrell Ranch: From its 1890 Inception in Texas to 2025.” Both students received a $1,000 scholarship for next year, as well.

The Texas Poets’ Corner was established in 2003 in WT’s Cornette Library. In 2021, it was bequeathed a $2.8 million estate gift by the late Dr. Jenny Lind Porter Scott, a former Texas Poet Laureate and WT assistant professor of English.

Porter, who published her first poem at age 14, served as Texas Poet Laureate in 1964 and 1965, was the author of several collections and books, and was named to the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985.

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Top photo: Mary Freas, left, and Joshua Copas earned the top awards in the Jenny Lind Porter history essay competition.

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Photo: West Texas A&M University students Isaac Galan, from left, Hollie Velasquez and Chris Mathews celebrate their wins at the recent American Advertising Awards.

WT Graphic Design Students Sweep Awards

Three West Texas A&M University graphic design students took home 15 awards at the recent American Advertising Awards.

Hollie Velasquez, a senior from Amarillo, won a special judge’s award, a gold award, two silvers and three honorable mentions. Chris Matthews, a senior from Amarillo, won a special judge’s award, a silver award and an honorable mention. Isaac Galan, a senior from Amarillo, won a special judge’s award, a gold award, a silver, an honorable mention and a professional honorable mention.

“It’s always amazing to see the outstanding work of our students and alumni and the influence of the program in the Panhandle,” said Marcus Melton, associate professor of graphic design.

The 2024 American Advertising Awards were given out in a Feb. 21 ceremony hosted by American Advertising Federation–Amarillo.

AAF’s three-tier, national competition starts locally, with businesses, nonprofits, students and others vying for recognition as the best in their markets.

“A Gold ADDY is recognition of the highest level of creative excellence and is judged to be superior to all other entries in the category. Entries that are also considered outstanding and worthy of recognition receive a Silver ADDY,” according to AAF.

Gold award winners automatically advance to the district competition.

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Promoting quality, both in education and student work, is a cornerstone of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $160 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT, a Regional Research University, is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. 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 more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and 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.

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