C-5A Galaxy pilot endows Aggie scholarship as legacy

Capt. Jeremy Hooper, a 68th Airlift Squadron pilot, sits at the controls of a C-5A Galaxy at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. Hooper recently endowed a $25,000 scholarship under the Sul Ross Scholarship program at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas to assist cadets in tuition costs. (Courtesy Photo)

C-5A Galaxy pilot endows Aggie scholarship as legacy

C-5A Galaxy pilot endows $25,000 Aggie scholarship as legacy

Capt. Jeremy Hooper, a 68th Airlift Squadron pilot, started his military career path as a member of the Texas A&M University's Corps of Cadets. Hooper would graduated in 2002 with a degree in economics, enlisted in the Air Force Reserve. Hooper recently endowed a $25,000 scholarship under Texas A&M's Sul Ross Scholarship program. Aggies are encouraged to give back through the program to help new generations of Aggies fund their educations and keep the Corps of Cadets viable as well. (Courtesy Photo)

C-5A Galaxy pilot endows $25,000 Aggie scholarship as legacy

C-5 Galaxy pilot endows Aggie scholarship as legacy

Published July 31, 2013
By Elsa Martinez
433 Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-Lackland -- A 433rd Airlift Wing reservist recently endowed a scholarship at Texas A&M University to offer the same opportunity for higher education to future "Aggie" graduates.
Officially named the "Captain Jeremy D. Hooper '02 Sul Ross Scholarship"--named for the 68th Airlift Squadron pilot--the endowed scholarship was established by Hooper with $25,000 and is worth $600 per semester. The student awardee receives the scholarship for two years, or $2,400 total. Scholarship is either renewed or a new student applies for and receives the scholarship.

The scholarship was created under the Sul Ross Scholarship program, started in 1993, and named for Lawrence Sullivan (Sully) Ross, Aggie and former soldier, Texas Ranger and Texas governor. Ross envisioned A&M graduates who would be ready and willing to serve their states and nation in peace and war, agriculture or industry or industry, business or government, and in the arts and sciences. The Corps of Cadets whom Sully nurtured also embraced these values, and so the Aggie Spirit was born.

Scholarships encourage outstanding young men and women to join the Corps and benefit from their leadership and other military skills learned from the Corps. Aggies and friends of the Corps share his vision by endowing a Sul Ross Scholarship helps new generations of Aggies to fund their education and keep Texas A&M's Corps of Cadets viable during their college careers.

After graduating college in 2002 with a degree in economics, Hooper had long since envisioned his future as C-5 pilot that would send him to major contingencies around the world. "I had always wanted to be a pilot," he reflected.

The seed of a military aviation career was cultivated by his father, Col. (ret.) Victor Hooper, a former 68th AS commander and 433rd vice commander. The apple didn't fall far from the tree as junior Hooper enlisted in the Air Force Reserve after ending his Aggie career.

Now a C-5A Galaxy pilot, Hooper admits the initial seed money for the scholarship was difficult to establish but worth it in the long run.

"This is how I chose to give back, since I was the recipient of a Sul Ross Scholarship when I was a student at Texas A&M," he remarked. "While $600 per semester is only a small dent in today's college tuition, this scholarship will serve as a legacy that will help put future generations of Texas A&M Corps of Cadets members through school for many decades or perhaps centuries after I'm gone."

For more information about establishing or receiving a Sul Ross Scholarship, visit: http://giving.tamu.edu/foundation