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I read a recent article in the Casper Star-Tribune the other day (8/26/25) that brought back a lot of memories. It had to do with the fact that the Wyoming State Legislature is going to deal with an injustice that I hope they can correct this time around. I am referring to the Hathaway Scholarship fund. This fund is a great blessing to the students of Wyoming and a wonderful way to honor and remember Governor Stan Hathaway.
At the time of its inception in 2005 I was on the Riverton City Council. I had a very good friend by the name of Chuck Wright. He was the manager of Pacific Power and had his offices in the Teton Hotel building about where Mr. Gore’s has had his office for many years. In visiting with Chuck one day he was especially upset with the proposed Hathaway Scholarship. His concern and mine and the reason that I am writing this article is the fact that our understanding at the time (before it became the present law) was that the only requirement that was required of a student to have access to this fund was it be used for furthering his education and that he/she had a high school diploma. There was no requirement that a student had to have taken merit classes or that it be spent at the University of Wyoming or one of our junior colleges. It did need to be spent in Wyoming and it needed to go to an accredited program such as WyoTech or other formal apprenticeship program or trade school. It was only after “Education” got involved that it started collecting all of these educational requirements.
I hope that the fund can get back to what I believe was its original intent and provide educational support to all students that graduate from high school. There are many students that do not want to attend college and may not be successful if they did. I can relate to that as it took me ten years and a tour in Vietnam to get my degree. I was blessed with hard working parents that tolerated my immaturity and a grandmother that never gave up on me. Many high school students with a new diploma are not so lucky but they will make great plumbers or electricians with a little help. It was never intended, from my understanding and Chuck’s, to be a revenue stream for the elitist in higher education. It was initially intended, as I recall, to help all of our graduating students to further their education and advance the economic value to the student and the State of Wyoming.
Signed,
Ron Warpness