Our Story

The Bryent P. Wilkins Award is presented annually to a Davenport College sophomore in order to allow that student to pursue a life-enriching experience in the coming summer. Named for a member of the Class of 1993 who passed away during his sophomore year, the Award has been established by his classmates, family, and friends as a way to honor his memory. A stipend of $5,000 will be given to the Davenport College sophomore who submits the proposal which best attains the following guidelines:

• The stipend will be used during the summer between the recipient's sophomore and junior years.

• The stipend will be used to finance, in part or in whole, a project, activity, trip, or other undertaking that provides the recipient with a life-enriching experience.

• The winning proposal need not be academic in nature; equal consideration will be given to endeavors that expand the recipient's intellectual, cultural, spiritual, and/or emotional horizons.

Simply stated, Bryent's friends and family want to give the awardee the chance to do something they might not otherwise get the opportunity to do. We encourage applicants to be creative, be persuasive, and be honest. If the goal is to use the money to trek through the Himalayas, tell us why. If the Award will help finance independent research into the history of an obscure musical instrument, we want to hear why that is meaningful. The only restriction to the scope of proposals is the applicant’s own imagination.