New scholarship established for Marion Technical College engineering students
The scholarship has been established by alumnus Rick Lyon and his wife Terry. The scholarship will be awarded to engineering students, with preference to those who graduated from River Valley High School.
Marion Technical College alumnus Rick Lyon, who graduated from the college in 1981 with an associate’s degree in electrical engineering, has established a new scholarship fund to provide financial assistance to students who are studying engineering. Alongside his wife Terry, Rick has established the fund for those who are in good academic standing and have demonstrated financial need, and preference will be given to eligible students who graduated from River Valley High School.
According to an article on Marion Technical College’s website, Mike Stuckey, who serves as the director of the Marion Technical College Foundation, was quoted as saying of the newly established scholarship, “Marion invested in Rick Lyon and now he’s investing in other students. Our growing student body depends on people like Rick and Terry who want to help give them a hand up.”
Rick did not plan to go to college after he graduated from high school in Marion, Ohio, until he learned that Marion Technical College offered an electrical engineering program. Throughout his childhood, he was always interested in technology and figuring out how things worked. Rick said, “I once dragged a broken TV home in my little red wagon to try to fix it.”
He noted that he never intended to go to college, and that the only reason he actually went was that “It was close and convenient! I grew up just a few miles from here. If it hadn’t been in my hometown, I would never have gone to college.”
While Rick was an average student in high school, he found the supportive community of mentors and advisors at Marion Technical College to be helpful and instrumental to his success. After graduating with his associate degree, he earned a bachelor degree from Franklin University and a master’s degree from Ashland University.
His career started at Fairfield Engineering, followed by the local phone company. Rick retired from Frontier, where he began as an entry-level employee and eventually worked his way up to Director of Engineering and Construction in Ohio.
Rick said of his career trajectory, “I was always in engineering. There are very few people who made it from an associate to a director and never left their hometown. I was very fortunate.”
Andy Harper, who is the former president of the MTC Foundation Board of Directors, said, “It always makes me proud to see students who graduate and think enough of the college to give back. If Marion Tech weren’t here, I wouldn’t have had my career. What an awesome resource. Marion Tech continues to grow and make me proud.”
For more information about Marion Technical College, visit the school’s website.