April 24, 2018

Seven high-achieving Montana State University students have received the inaugural Cameron Presidential Scholarships.

The scholarships for the seven MSU students, as well as three incoming freshmen who will be announced later, were made possible by an endowment made in 2017 by the Cameron Family, according to Ilse-Mari Lee, dean of the MSU Honors College.

Lee said the students were selected on the basis of scholastic achievement, demonstrated leadership and exemplary public service. Each recipient of a presidential scholarship, MSU’s most prestigious student scholarship, will receive generous financial support during his or her undergraduate career at MSU if he or she maintains a superior academic standing, she said. All recipients are students in MSU’s Honors College.

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Seven high-achieving Montana State University students have received the inaugural Cameron Presidential Scholarships honoring scholastic achievement, demonstrated leadership and exemplary public service. Members of the inaugural class are, clockwise from top left: Colin Hammock, Joseph Marugg, Taylor Blossom, Logan Gunderson, Dean Ricker, Sarah Lorch and Micah McFeely on Thursday, April 19, 2018. MSU Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

“We are deeply grateful to the Cameron family for endowing the Cameron Presidential Scholarships,” Lee said. “For a number of years, it has been a dream of ours to have such an award for current students. We are very pleased to announce the first cohort of Cameron Presidential Scholars.”

Nancy Cameron, along with her brother, David Cameron, and his wife, Tanya, are from a homesteading family north of Great Falls. The Camerons made the scholarships possible by committing to a $4 million endowment. The Cameron family homesteaded north of Great Falls more than 125 years ago and owned and operated the Dana Ranch in Cascade for more than 75 years.

Nancy Cameron, who now lives in Boise, Idaho, is an alumna of the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship. David Cameron is a retired MSU faculty biologist and department head. Tanya Cameron is also an alumna of MSU, with a degree in business management.

This is the first year the Cameron Presidential Scholarships have been awarded, Lee said. She said that the three incoming freshmen recipients will be announced with all of the incoming freshmen presidential scholars later this spring.

The 2018 Cameron Presidential Scholarship recipients who are current students, listed by hometown with Montana hometowns first, are:

Montana

Glasgow

Logan Gunderson is a sophomore double-majoring in biochemistry and cell biology and neuroscience. A Montana University System Scholar, Gunderson is an emergency medical technician and has served in this capacity while a student at Montana State. He was elected treasurer of the Residence Hall Council in his freshman year and is currently a resident adviser in Langford Hall. He will be traveling to Thailand and Laos this spring to serve as a Growth International Volunteer Excursions volunteer. His parents are Patrick and Christi Gunderson of Glasgow. 

Helena

Taylor Blossom is a junior majoring in chemical engineering, economics and directed interdisciplinary studies. He was recently elected as the 2018 ASMSU Student Body president and is a Montana University System and National Merit Scholar. Blossom has participated in Montana Idea Network for Biomedical Research funded research with professor Ross Carlson. He has served as an ASMSU senator, representing the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, and has served as the vice president of the Residence Hall Council.  His parents are Loren and Susan Blossom of Helena.

Missoula

Colin Hammock is a junior majoring in cell biology and neuroscience. He is a National Merit and Montana University System Scholar as well as an Eagle Scout. Hammock is an offensive lineman with the MSU Bobcat football team. He serves on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, as vice president of MSU's Health Pre-professional Honor Society, and is a vice president of Phi Kappa Phi. He works as a tutor on campus and as a resident associate at Birchwood Assisted Living. He will be traveling to Poland this summer with several teammates on a Habitat for Humanity trip, and maintains a research position with the Stress, Adversity, Resilience and Health Lab at MSU. His parents are Beth Hammock of Lee's Summit, Missouri, and Ben Hammock of Shawnee, Kansas.  

Whitefish

Micah McFeely is a junior majoring in economics with a minor in statistics. She is the outgoing ASMSU vice president and a recipient of the Governor’s Best and Brightest Scholarship. She was recognized as one of the “25 under 25” awardees, an award given to 25 young Montanans who demonstrate “real and positive change in their communities,” and was named the Resident Adviser of the Year in 2017. Her parents are 

Michael McFeely and Kage Harp of Whitefish.

Out of state

Breckenridge, Colorado

Sarah Lorch is a freshman majoring in community health with a minor in international business. She will soon be applying for admission to the MSU nursing program. She is inspired to serve communities abroad from her previous service-learning experiences in Cambodia and Honduras. Lorch volunteers at the Bozeman Community Café and the Warming Hut of Bozeman. Her parents are Kathy and Brian Lorch of Breckenridge, Colorado. 

LaGrande, Oregon

Dean Ricker is a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering. A Western Undergraduate Exchange Scholar, Ricker has participated in Montana Idea Network for Biomedical Research (INBRE) funded research the lab of Christa Merzdorf, professor of cell biology and neuroscience. He is the secretary of the MSU chapter of Growth International Volunteer Excursions. His parents are Curt and Tatiana Ricker of LaGrande, Oregon.

Camas, Washington

Joseph Marugg is a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in electrical engineering.  A National Merit Scholar, Marugg completed a Certificate of Proficiency in Robotics Engineering as well as two years of college while in high school. He is in the midst of a three-year tech prep internship program offered jointly through the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and Boeing. His parents are Darrel and Lori Marugg of Camas, Washington.

Ilse-Mari Lee, ilselee@montana.edu, 406-994-4689

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