Published 8:57 pm Tuesday, January 21, 2025
by Staff reports
The Wallace State Community College Future Foundation is offering its first endowed scholarship of the year with the creation of the Dr. James Speeker and Donna Speeker Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship will benefit students studying Diagnostic Imaging at Wallace State.
Donna Speeker, a former English and Spanish instructor at Wallace State, established the scholarship.
“I wanted to do something permanent in mine and my husband’s memory,” Donna Speeker, whose husband James passed away Feb. 22, 2017, said.
“He was a family physician here in Cullman and he started as an X-ray tech in the Air Force,” Speeker said. That skillset, she said, supported them as they both went to college and started their family.
“His being an X-ray tech kept us afloat for years,” she said. “We moved quite a few times and everywhere we went he was able to work.”
When she began thinking about establishing a scholarship, his experience as an X-ray technician and her history with the college influenced her decision.
“I felt like this scholarship to the Diagnostic Imaging program would be an homage to his past,” she said.
The first scholarship is expected to be awarded in Fall 2026. Speeker has noted a preference that the scholarship be provided to a single parent when possible.
“I hate to think of how many students graduate from any kind of program in debt and I was thinking this would be a help,” she said.
As a former instructor, Speeker said she recalls students who struggled as they waited on funding or had to miss classes due to sick children or family commitments. “It hurt my heart to hear people struggle like that,” she said.
Speeker said her husband was very supportive of her during their life together and knows he would have supported her in this endeavor as well. She said she’s been blessed to be able to establish this scholarship and would encourage others to do the same.
“The establishment of the Dr. James Speeker and Donna Speeker Endowed Scholarship represents an incredible opportunity for our Diagnostic Imaging students,” Dr. Jim Malone, Program Director and Associate Dean for Health Sciences, said. “Many of our students face significant financial challenges while pursuing their education, and this scholarship will help alleviate some of that burden. It not only provides vital support but also reinforces the value of investing in the next generation of healthcare professionals. This kind of generosity inspires our students to excel academically and professionally, knowing their efforts are recognized and supported. We are deeply grateful for this meaningful contribution to our program and our students’ futures.”
