Montana State announces 11th class of Hilleman Scholars

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Montana State announces 11th class of Hilleman Scholars

Montana State University

Montana State announces 11th class of Hilleman Scholars

Montana State University

Montana State announces 11th class of Hilleman Scholars

Montana State University

Montana State announces 11th class of Hilleman Scholars

Montana State University

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Montana State University

BOZEMAN — Growing up on a ranch teaches you to work hard, said Gracie Phipps.

She helps raise yearlings and manage a flock of about 800 sheep on her family’s ranch in Jordan, the seat of Garfield County and home to fewer than 500 residents. Raising livestock means providing 24/7 care — tracking feed, weighing sheep and braving 40-below temperatures during lambing season.

When Phipps realized scholarships were the only way for her to afford college, she wasn’t deterred by the amount of work required to earn them. Now, the college freshman is one of 64 Montana students to join Montana State University’s 11th class of Hilleman Scholars.

“We all come from different backgrounds and different towns of different sizes. We all probably have different financial situations, but we get here as Hilleman Scholars and we're all on the same level,” Phipps said. “We stayed in the same dorm [this summer]. We're all learning from the same classes. I think it’s what’s really cool about this program, because it lets us all come together as Montana students and shows that we can all learn together.”

Hilleman Scholars are Montana students selected for their academic, leadership and career potential. They are eligible for up to $6,000 in academic support for their first year of college and $4,000 each year thereafter. They attend one class together each week, receive tutoring and are assigned peer mentors to help them thrive in college.

The program is named for Maurice Hilleman, who grew up on his family farm in Miles City and planned to work at a department store instead of attending college. With encouragement from his brother, Hilleman applied for a scholarship at MSU, then called Montana State College, and graduated at the top of his class in 1941.

In the following years, Hilleman became the world’s leading vaccinologist. He developed several common vaccines given to children, including those for measles, mumps and pneumonia.

MSU founded the Hilleman Scholars Program in 2016 to honor his legacy and provide an accessible college education for Montana students per the land-grant mission, said Carina Beck, associate vice president of university initiatives.

“Each year, with the arrival of the Hilleman Scholars cohort, we affirm MSU's public land-grant mission,” Beck said. “This year's scholars come from 35 communities from across Montana, representing 24 Montana counties. We are privileged to welcome a thoughtful and engaged group of leaders to campus.”

Some scholars are planning to return home and serve their areas of the state after attending college. Phipps plans to work in rural communities lacking accessible physical therapy services with a kinesiology degree from the College of Education, Health and Human Development. She said Jordan residents often travel dozens of miles out of town for specialized care that isn't available at the community health center or is provided only at certain times during the week.

“I think recovery is very important, and I've seen a need for it in our farming and ranch communities because the work is very hard on their bodies,” she said. “Getting to a point where we are having them come in so they can improve their lives, get healthier and get back to their operations is a really important thing to me.”

For other scholars, the Hilleman Scholars Program is a way to experience life beyond their hometown. Gabe Siate, a freshman from Butte, wanted to explore Bozeman’s outdoorsy lifestyle while studying how to support the environment in which he recreates. He plans to study environmental engineering in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering.

To get a head start on his college credits, Siate took calculus and writing classes at no cost this summer through the Hilleman program’s Summer Success Academy. All scholars spent five weeks living on campus, taking classes and connecting with guest speakers, tutors and peer mentors.

Siate said he has come to understand the value of mentorship in academics. While in high school, he didn’t consider going to college until his English teacher encouraged him to join AP classes and achieve a 4.0 before graduating.

“I always had the ability to excel; I just needed the right teachers and mentors to push me to actually work hard,” he said.

Brodey Beehler, a freshman studying film in the College of Arts and Architecture, found his role models closer to home. His mother and stepfather earned their college degrees from MSU while Beehler was a high school freshman in Bozeman. His stepfather, a military veteran, earned a degree in finance while his mother, formerly a cosmetologist, studied to become a vaccine nurse. Her connection to Hilleman’s vaccinology background was not lost on Beehler when he applied for the program as a way to graduate nearly debt free and form connections with mentors and peers, he said.

Beehler said the program also provides students like himself, who have struggled financially and with mental health, with the tools to succeed in college.

“We're the kids who see opportunity where others do not. We see ways to solve problems, and we want to help out others in any way we can,” Beehler said.

This year’s Hilleman Scholars are listed alphabetically below by name and hometown:

This content is sourced from Montana State University . It reflects the author's views and has not been edited by our newsroom. It may have been generated using AI assistance.

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