The McMurran Scholars Association has awarded its 2012-13 scholarship, established through the Shepherd University Foundation, to graduate student Ryan Alexander Laspina-Carriger, of Charles Town. The McMurran Scholars Association Scholarship is an annual award designated for McMurran Scholars attending Shepherd as full- or part-time graduate students.

Currently working as a pre-school teacher, Laspina-Carriger, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Shepherd in 2012, is a first-year graduate student at Shepherd pursuing his master of business administration. He then hopes to earn his M.F.A. in creative writing. “I really like studying business and think it will be a flexible degree,” he said. “But I’m also very interested in writing and believe I can apply it in the business world.”

Laspina-Carriger’s family moved to the Eastern Panhandle when he was in seventh grade. “When I finished high school, I wasn’t ready to leave home,” he said. “So, I chose to attend Shepherd. It’s really paid off for me.”

As an active member of the Shepherd community, Laspina-Carriger provides tutoring in English and is involved with The Picket and a weekly sports-talk show on the campus radio station. He became a McMurran Scholar at the group’s convocation in April 2012.

The McMurran Scholars Association, sponsored by the Shepherd University Foundation, promotes and honors scholarly inquiry and academic excellence among those students who have received Shepherd University’s most prestigious honor, the McMurran Scholar award. The organization seeks to model applications of scholarly work both on campus and in the wider community, provide networking opportunities among its members, and mentor current Shepherd students. Like the organization on Facebook at www.facebook.com/McMurranScholars.

The McMurran Scholars Association welcomes all McMurran Scholars interested in donating their time and talent to the organization. A resource directory is being compiled and all interested McMurran Scholars are asked to complete an information form. The directory will allow Shepherd faculty to utilize scholars in the classroom and for other student mentoring activities currently in development. In addition to mentoring, members can help by attending quarterly meetings, planning events associated with homecoming and the annual McMurran Scholars convocation, or by making a charitable donation to support the McMurran Scholars Association Scholarship.

For more information about the McMurran Scholars Association and to complete a resource directory form, please contact Robert Shaw at the Shepherd University Foundation, P.O. Box 5000, Shepherdstown, WV, 25443, 304-876-5195, rshaw02@shepherd.edu, or visit www.shepherd.edu/aaweb/mcmurran.