By Robert DeWitt
Porter James had settled on attending Mississippi State which, like many land grant institutions, has a wildlife science curriculum. But when James heard about the President’s Outdoor Scholars Program at the University of Montevallo, he changed his mind.
“I heard about this program and did a 180,” said James, a sophomore at Montevallo from Russellville. “I said, ‘I’ve got to check this out.’ I’m glad I did. The experiences I’ve had in this program are unbelievable.”
The President’s Outdoor Scholars Program mixes courses from different schools within the university to create a degree that students can use to establish an outdoors-related career. After three years, the program has grown from an initial group of eight students to 39 this year. Students in the program qualify for scholarships from $1,000 to $3,000 annually if they maintain a 2.5 GPA.The program is the brainchild of Montevallo President John Stewart. An avid fisherman and waterfowl hunter as a teenager living in rural Delaware, he was cut off from the outdoors sports he loved when he attended college.
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