CANYON – West Texas A&M University (WT) held a student memorial service Friday at Legacy Hall in Canyon to honor students who died during the 2023-24 academic year and to present scholarships in their memory, to continue their legacy and honor to three students.
Honored at the ceremony were Coby Scott Flow and Daniel Wade Poole, seniors from Amarillo, and Yonathan Mendoza, a freshman from Wheeler. Leticia Lora from Gruver for Flow, Ximena Badillo from Wheeler for Mendoza, and Efrain Rosales from Perryton for Poole received these scholarships in their memory.
Feliberto Avila, the WT student body president, spoke about the importance of honoring these three students and their legacy.
“Being a part of the WT family is very important to me and for their families to see the impact that their son or daughter made on this community,” Avila said. “It is so important to take a moment to reflect on those students with the legacies that they are leaving behind and how we can continue that for them.”
Avila stressed that it was an honor for him and WT to honor these students and select them for these scholarships.
“I cannot imagine what these families have gone through with their losses; these are siblings, sons and daughters, and community members who are shaping the lives around them,” Avila said. “For the recipients, it’s a great honor to be able to receive a scholarship that represents that legacy that this person is leaving behind that you, in some way, may be tasked to carry to continue greatness.”
Avila feels that the investment in these students’ futures will be a special inspiration to those who were honored. The three awarded scholarship recipients went through a rigorous process, with more than 1,000 applicants. The student government chose them, trying to consider students from the same area or major, as well as many other factors.
“It’s a very long process, and we try to be as detailed and specific as we can to choose the recipients to receive this honor. We take our task very seriously to be able to honor these legacies,” Avila said. “The students who receive the scholarship and these families have a tie that goes on forever, knowing that the student represents that lost son or daughter. It is an incredibly special relationship.”
Lora, a sophomore finance and economics major, spoke about receiving a scholarship in Flow’s name.
“I did not know Colby personally, but I am very honored to represent him,” Lora said. “We both were finance majors. I am both sad but also incredibly happy to be able to continue his legacy. I am so grateful.”
Knowing that Flow died so young, Lora says that gives her perspective that nothing is promised.
“This makes me want to live more and try my hardest every single day, being grateful for every single day I have,” Lora said. “As I continue studying and living life, I am just appreciating the little moments in life every day.”
Scott and Brenda Flow, the parents of Colby Scott Flow, spoke about being able to honor their son while also having a part of him continue with the awarding of a scholarship in his name. Colby Scott Flow, who attended Amarillo High School, died a few days before his WT graduation. His parents attended graduation last December in honor of their son.
“Colby was a funny guy. He loved golf, movies, and finance and was gone too soon,” Brenda Flow said.
Scott Flow expressed gratitude for all that WT has done for them following the death of his son.
“We were honored that WT allowed us to attend the graduation in his honor,” Scott Flow said. “He was accepted into the graduate school here at WT to get his master’s degree. We will miss him; he was a great guy loved by his friends, especially his family. WT has gone above and beyond to reach out to us and extend lots of consideration and sympathy. We appreciate all they have done for us.”
He thanked WT for this honor and said it was extraordinarily special that WT created a scholarship in his memory.
“We are so happy that we were able to participate in this service; this feels tremendous,” Scott Flow said. “More importantly, because of Colby and his memory, someone will be able to benefit through a scholarship at WT. We send our best wishes to the recipient. There were days when you could talk to Colby about finance for hours because he was so extremely interested in it. He loved finance, loved being in the business school, and was proud to be part of the WT community.”
