Last year, Sonoran Desert Institute (SDI) awarded three students with scholarship opportunities for the Paul Jackson First Responder Scholarship, the EANGUS Scholarship, and the SGT Michael Beckerman Memorial Scholarship. Throughout the year, these exemplary students worked hard, kept up their grades, and pushed hard to achieve their educational goals. Sonoran Desert Institute followed up with these students to check on their progress in the program, to recognize their achievements, and to see what the future holds for these outstanding individuals.
Warren Scotter
Warren Scotter will be graduating from Sonoran Desert Institute in August 2018. He had this to say about his tenure so far, “I have really enjoyed attending SDI. The Paul Jackson First Responder Scholarship has been amazing for me and there is no way I could have attended school without it.” Warren is a hard worker and has turned in excellent grades over the past year. As with most students, his favorite parts of the course work are the labs, although he pointed out, “I understand that it can’t be all labs, but even the writing of papers has been fun. I’ve learned a lot!” Standout courses for Warren have been the muzzleloader build as well as the checkering lab. Warren is almost at the finish line for his program and he’s got big plans. “I’m not giving up my career as a firefighter, but I’m getting things in order to start a side business in gunsmithing.” He loves working with his hands and gunsmithing is the perfect outlet for him to pursue his passion as well as earn some income. His goal is to grow the business into something he can do in retirement and with the effort that he has shown in the program, he may be able to do much more than that.
Adam Purtell
Last year, Adam Purtell was awarded the EANGUS scholarship due to his exemplary background and personality. Adam is a highly driven individual and has been able to balance life obligations, academic obligations, and his vocation as an arms instructor. This past year, Adam was required to go on deployment and was worried how it would impact both his education as well as his scholarship. “The admissions advisers at SDI have been extremely helpful. I talked to them in advance of my deployment and they helped me get everything in order. I was able to go on deployment and return without any hiccups in my education.” Adam has decided to start using some of the gunsmithing training as well as the material he has accumulated at Sonoran Desert Institute to help his work as an arms instructor, and his goal is to improve performance in his instructional classes. What impressed Adam with the program was that despite working as an arms instructor and being trained with firearms, there was a lot to learn in the SDI program. “I really loved the books that were provided during the program and the cleaning kits we received as students were awesome!” Adam will be graduating in August and will continue to put his accumulated knowledge to good work as an arms instructor. There is no doubt that Adam’s students will benefit from his knowledge and the hard work he has put in at SDI.
Andy Howdyshell
Andy Howdyshell received the SGT Michael Beckerman Memorial Scholarship in 2017, and it has helped him immensely in the pursuit of his educational goals. “There is absolutely no way I could have attended school without receiving this scholarship,” stated Andy. He has been able to post excellent grades, fulfill his family goals, and maintain his professional career, all despite medical complications from his military service. Even with all the juggling of his obligations, Andy is taking on side projects with firearms to further improve his abilities. He hasn’t gotten to the point, though, where he feels comfortable seeking an income from working on firearms, which is a testament to the high standards he sets for himself. So far, his favorite class in the program has been Reloading & Ballistics. “I really enjoyed the information covered in this class. I have never reloaded before and I found that the information covered in Reloading & Ballistics could greatly improve my overall knowledge of firearms.” Andy is set to graduate Sonoran Desert Institute in 2019.
These students are true examples of what it means to attend Sonoran Desert Institute. SDI prides itself on helping students achieve their academic goals while pursuing their passions; but without hard work, sacrifice, and diligence, the school can only take students so far. Warren Scotter, Adam Purtell, and Andy Howdyshell embody these qualities and there is little doubt they will achieve their goals.
If you are curious about SDI’s scholarship programs, please visit the scholarship page.
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