ALAMOSA – Receiving a scholarship as an Adams State student, Wayne Evans began paying it forward once he began his professional career. The Adams State University Foundation will present Wayne and Ellen Evans with the Willis Fassett Jr. Award at the Annual Donor and Student Recognition Dinner on November 6.

“We were surprised and pleased to receive the Willis Fassett Jr. Award Willis Fassett Jr. Award,” Wayne said. “We do not think our efforts were anything special. I received a scholarship from the Alamosa Elks Club for full tuition to Adams State College in 1959. I took a heavy load and graduated in three years.”

The Elks Club scholarship and a student loan supplemented Wayne’s savings for his undergraduate degree. “I know that a college education is expensive, even though Adams State is very low cost compared to national averages, for families in the San Luis Valley so when I started full time work with IBM in 1964, we began to pay back the financial help I received by making a small donation annually.” As Wayne’s earnings increased, they gave more.

In 2009, they established the Wayne O. Evans and Ellen M. Evans Science/Math Scholarship. After the death of a high school classmate, Wayne established the MVHS-Adams Scholarship Endowment for Monte Vista High School graduates to attend Adams State.

“We are proud of the recognition, but our success will be determined if current scholarship recipients continue to payback by making their own donations,” Wayne added. “If only 50 percent of graduates gave $5 per year to an academic scholarship to help it could significantly lower the cost of tuition. It is our wish to see the current percentage of donors increase to 50 percent, or beyond.”

A Monte Vista High School graduate, Wayne graduated Cum Laude from Adams State with a Bachelor of Science in 1962. “I was the first of the Evans to get a college degree.” He believes the professors knew him as a person not a number. “I was taught by great professors that cared more about students than a research grant. Adams State was like home away from home.”

Ellen grew up on a farm South of Topeka, Kansas. She graduated from Kansas State University in 1961. Evans completed a Master of Science in mathematics from Kansas State University. Ellen and Wayne have three children who grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, where Wayne worked for IBM. They currently live in Tucson Arizona.

The Willis Fassett Jr. Award is given by the Adams State University Foundation to strong supporters of the university. The award is named for the late Willis Fassett Jr., who was a long-time president of the Foundation Board of Directors.