Undergraduate Scholarships

STUDENT CRITERIA: Preference will be given to non-traditional student(s).  Student(s) must be enrolled full-time, in good academic standing and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above.  

AMOUNT: $500 to be awarded in the Fall Term and Spring Term 

SOURCE: Friends and Family of Marshall Littleton

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Each applicant will submit an application form, transcript, three letters of recommendation and a brief essay. Final recipient(s) will be selected by the Scholarship Selection Committee in the School of Criminal Justice, with members of the Littleton family participating in an advisory capacity in reviewing applications.

NOTE: Marshall Littleton attended Southwest Texas State University but chose to pursue his dream of becoming a Police Officer when he was accepted into the Austin Police Academy and was commissioned on October of 1978.  During his ten-year tenure he rose through the ranks from Patrolman to Senior Patrolman, Accident Investigator, Field Training Officer and finally joined the ranks of the elite APD SWAT Team and Bomb Squad.  During this time, he decided to resume the pursuit of his educational goals and completed his degree in Criminal Justice in 1988.  With his education and experience he moved on to become a Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and specialized in Explosives and Arson Investigation.  He became a Certified Fire Investigator and was named to the National and International Response Teams.  As a member of these teams he played an integral part of many high-profile cases such as the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Pentagon post 9/11.  He retired on December 29, 2012 after more than 34 years in law enforcement and passed away on January 3, 2013.

Jessica Hollis attended Southwest Texas State during the middle 1990s.  Her first job after the University was to become an Emergency Medical Technician in Corpus Christi, Texas.  She and her husband Ricky Hollis, who worked in a similar capacity, later moved to Austin where he joined the Austin Police Department and she joined the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.  On September 18, 2014, she drowned while evacuating people from an area below Mansfield Dam during a severe rainstorm.  Her body was found the next day after the floodwaters subsided.

STUDENT CRITERIA: Classification of undergraduate students of junior or senior class standing; applicants must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 with a minimum GPA of 3.25 in Criminal Justice; in good standing with the university.

AMOUNT: $500.00 to be awarded for the Fall Term and for the Spring Term

SOURCE: Friends and family of Rudy Mesa and the San Marcos Police Department

NOTE:  Rudy Mesa was a 1999 graduate of Texas State University , a veteran of the United States Army, and a retired member of the San Marcos Police Department. After retiring he served as an advisor to train Iraqi police officers. On May 8, 2006 he was killed by an improvised explosive device near Rustamiyah, Iraq.  

STUDENT CRITERIA:  At the time of application the applicant must be currently enrolled as a full-time student majoring in Criminal Justice at the undergraduate level at Texas State University.

AMOUNT:  $500.00 to be awarded for the Fall Term and Spring Term

SOURCE:  The Steve Willis Family and the Texas Wheels Sports Car Club of America 

NOTE:  Steve Willis was an ATF agent who was killed in the line of duty in 1993 during the Branch Davidian Incident.  He was a 1987 graduate of Southwest Texas State University in Criminal Justice.

STUDENT CRITERIA:  At the time of application the applicant must be currently enrolled as a full-time student majoring in Criminal Justice at the undergraduate level at Texas State University.

AMOUNT: $500.00 to be awarded for the Fall Term and for the Spring Term

SOURCE: Friends and family of David Flores 

NOTE: David Flores was a career police officer for the San Antonio Police Department.  While working as an officer he obtained his undergraduate and Master’s degrees.  Upon retirement he taught Criminal Justice for several years at Southwest Texas State University.

STUDENT CRITERIA: At the time of application the applicant must be currently enrolled as a full-time student majoring in Criminal Justice at the undergraduate level at Texas State University.

AMOUNT: $500 to be awarded for the Fall Term and Spring Term

SOURCE:  Friends and Family of Keith Ruiz and Travis County Sheriff’s Officers Association

NOTE: Keith Ruiz graduated from Southwest Texas State University in 1987 with a major in Criminal Justice.  He was a member of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team when he was killed in the line of duty in 2001 while serving a search and arrest warrant.

STUDENT CRITERIA:  At the time of application the applicant must be currently enrolled as a full-time student majoring in Criminal Justice at the undergraduate level at Texas State University.

AMOUNT: $500.00 for the Fall Term and Spring Term

SOURCE: The Metzler Family and the Dallas Police Officers Association

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Applicants should prepare a letter of intent stating career and educational goals.  An application, resume, transcript, and three letters of recommendation should also be enclosed.  

NOTE: Patrick Metzler graduated from Southwest Texas State University in 1993 with a major in Criminal Justice.  He was a member of the Dallas Police Department when he was killed in the line of duty in 2004 while directing traffic around a highway construction site.

STUDENT CRITERIA: At the time of application the applicant must be currently enrolled as a full-time student majoring in Criminal Justice at the undergraduate level at Texas State University or must be a member of the University’s Water Ski Team.

AMOUNT: $500 to be awarded for the Fall Term and Spring Term

SOURCE: The Shimek Family and the Texas State University Water Ski Club 

NOTE: Kevin Shimek was a Criminal Justice major at Texas State University who was killed in an automobile accident prior to graduation. 

STUDENT CRITERIA: At the time of application the  applicant must be currently enrolled as a full-time student majoring in Criminal Justice at the undergraduate level at Texas State University who has earned a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average.  Although not an exclusive requirement, preference is given to applicants seeking a career in municipal law enforcement.  Under the stipulations imposed by the Blaney family, financial need is to be considered a factor for the award of the scholarship.

AMOUNT: $500.00 to be awarded for the Fall Term and Spring Term

SOURCE:  The Paul and Lois Blaney Estate

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:  Applicants should prepare a letter of intent stating career and educational goals.  An application, resume, transcript, and three letters of recommendation should accompany the letter of intent. 

NOTE:  After Mr. Paul Blaney retired from the Chicago as a lieutenant, he became a member of the Criminal Justice faculty at Southwest Texas State University.  He and his wife left a sizeable amount of their estate to Texas State University to be used as scholarships for needy students.

STUDENT CRITERIA: At the time of application, the student must be currently enrolled as a full-time student majoring in Criminal Justice at the undergraduate level at Texas State University.  Preference is given to students pursuing a career in law enforcement.

AMOUNT:  $500 to be awarded for the Fall Term of 2014, renewable for the Spring Term of 2015 pending satisfactory progress

SOURCE:  The friends and family of Kurt Knapp and the annual Kurt Knapp Memorial Golf Outing held in Kerrville, TX

NOTE:  Kurt Knapp graduated from Southwest Texas State University in 1999 with a major in Criminal Justice.  He was a member of the Texas Department of Public Safety when he was killed in the line of duty in 2001 while serving on DWI task force in Gillespie County.

STUDENT CRITERIA:  Although not a requirement, preference is given to applicants who are licensed in-service peace officers employed full-time with a city, county, or state law enforcement agency as defined by Article 2.12 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.  Applicants must possess a minimum of a 2.5 GPA and be currently enrolled at Texas State University with a degree plan and must be making progress toward either an undergraduate or graduate degree.  Applicants must not be receiving or be eligible to receive tuition assistance from any other source; e.g. VA. officer's agency, or officer's community, etc.  Appropriate proof of employment on agency letterhead must be attached with the application.

AMOUNT: $500.00 to be awarded for the Fall Term and Spring Term

SOURCE: Donald B. Harrelson Endowment Fund

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Applicants must complete an application and submit a resume, statement of educational and professional goals resume, transcript and three letters of recommendation.  

NOTE: Donald B. Harrelson was a member of the Criminal Justice faculty at Southwest Texas State University from 1971 to 1987.  During his tenure he served as Department Chair and Associate Dean of the School of Applied Arts and Technology.  In 1983 he was honored by the Texas Association of Law Enforcement Educators as the recipient of the prestigious Wallace D. Beasley Award "for outstanding achievement and excellence in law enforcement training and education."  He is co-author of The Texas Peace Officer.

STUDENT CRITERIA: A the time of the application the student must be currently enrolled as a full-time student pursuing a BSCJ at Texas State University.

AMOUNT: $500 to be awarded for the Fall Term and Spring Term.

SOURCE: Friends and family of Yari Mokri

NOTE: The late Yari Mokri graduated with a BSCJ in May of 2005 with aspirations of doing intelligence analysis in law enforcement. He joined the United States Army to gain experience in the field. On December 6, 2006 he was killed when an IED exploded near his vehicle when he was patrolling the area of Hawijah, Iraq area.