Development News
Shockey-Blanchford Returning Student Scholarship established for currently enrolled Tennessee Tech students with financial need
While they came to Tennessee Tech for different reasons and to pursue different career
paths, four members of the Shockey and Blanchford families say the high-quality, practical
and affordable education they received from Tech resulted in enriching careers.
David and Donna Shockey, along with their daughter Tonya Blanchford and her husband Art, say they established the Shockey-Blanchford Returning Student Scholarship to help students with an intense desire for an education but who cannot afford college without financial aid.
“One of the things I love about Tech, and one of the reasons I wanted to establish this scholarship, is because Tech gives you the opportunity to work hard and apply yourself, and it doesn’t matter what circumstances you were raised in,” Art said. “The thing that attracted me to Tech was the value: high quality and low cost combined. It definitely served me well.”
David added, “This is our way of giving back and showing our appreciation for what Tennessee Tech did for us.”
David learned about Tech from a classmate and came to the university from Maryland in the summer of 1964. David’s father bought him a bus ticket, and the journey took two days since there were no interstates and the bus stopped at nearly every small town along the way.
David credits Tech for helping him overcome reading and learning disabilities to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering and become a successful officer in the U.S. Army for 22 years. David also owned a consulting and construction company, practiced as a professional engineer and project manager and became a beekeeper and mentor for veterans.
“Tech was the key to my success,” David said. “Tech gave me all of the basic tools and the ability to apply those tools in my career.”
Donna’s journey to Tech looked different from her husband’s. She graduated from Monterey High School, and her family had many connections to Tech including three aunts and an uncle who were graduates.
“Tech has always been a part of our lives,” Donna said. “It was a part of our family, and none of us would be where we are today without Tennessee Tech.”
When David and Donna’s daughter Tonya visited the campus, she fell in love with it instantly.
“It was a beautiful campus – more beautiful than any other campus I visited,” Tonya said. “I felt like the people here just wanted everyone to feel included and, dare I say, loved. At other schools you don’t get the same sense of community and friendships as you do at Tech – you are a small fish in a big sea. At Tech, we are all the same sized fish in a sea, and we are all in it together.”
Tonya says participating in sorority recruitment was a great way for her to meet new people.
“The students at Tech were so welcoming,” she said. “Many took me under their wing, and we ultimately became lifelong friends. This was something I appreciated so much, since my family was living in Utah – where my dad was stationed – at the time.”
Tonya graduated with a degree in finance and enjoyed a career in human resources. When her husband Art’s automotive career took him to Shanghai, China, Tonya organized a welcome program called the New Parents Program for other families adjusting to a new country and culture.
Like his mother-in-law, Art graduated from Monterey High School. But unlike Donna, he didn’t know much about Tech until he attended Boys State.
“It was the first time I was on the college campus, and I met a lot of interesting people,” Art said. “I applied to other schools but in the end, it came down to value. I couldn’t afford those other schools. Tech gave me a work study scholarship that would make it within reach for me to go.”
Art says he knew since he was 10 years old that he wanted to design cars, so there was no question he would major in mechanical engineering. He enjoyed a successful career in the automotive industry and credits Tech for an education that made it possible. Art now runs a small consulting company and podcast, “Life in Transition,” in Tennessee.
“I never felt like I didn’t have the education I needed to get where I wanted to go in my career,” Art said. “Some of the feedback I’ve heard from other engineering graduates, which matches my own experience, is that Tech graduates aren’t just book smart – they know how to get stuff done. They know how to solve problems. I knew all of my professors and still stay in touch with some of them today. I was fortunate to attend a school that’s the right size to have those relationships. My professors were a class act and always had time for me.”
The Shockey-Blanchford Returning Student Scholarship will be awarded to Tennessee Tech sophomores, juniors and seniors with financial need, and Art says his belief that society is only as good as its weakest link was one of the motivations behind the scholarship.
“Higher education institutions should be measured by how well they serve others,” Art said. “Tech is helping people who may not otherwise have access to a better life. That’s why we established a returning student scholarship for people who have need and have proven they are willing to do the work after one year. A Tech education can take you as far as you want to go.”
