Media arts student Jose Crespin, left, is this year’s recipient of a scholarship established by Highlands professor Pete LeRoy, right. The media arts scholarship is in honor of LeRoy’s late stepson.
Jose Crespin Awarded Media Arts Scholarship
New Mexico Highlands University media arts junior Jose Crespin was awarded a media arts scholarship in memory of the late Bryan “Dutch” Cokeley.
Crespin, a 20-year-old Las Vegas native, is the second student to receive the Bryan “Dutch” Cokeley scholarship.
“The media arts faculty is greatly impressed with Jose, and selected him for the scholarship because of his professionalism, creativity, and his generosity with the time he takes to help fellow students,” said Megan Jacobs, media arts professor and scholarship coordinator. “Jose is a gifted student in general, and is a very talented graphic designer. We’ve received rave reviews from his summer internship with the City of Las Vegas Museum.”
Cokeley was a Highlands University media arts student who had a longtime seizure disorder, and died Dec. 31, 2008, at the age of 30. Cokeley’s family established the scholarship in 2009 for outstanding media arts students.
Before his death, Cokeley was thriving in the Media Arts Program at the university.
Highlands University exercise and sport sciences professor Pete LeRoy is Cokeley’s stepfather, and is married to Cokeley’s mother, Kathleen LeRoy. Cokeley’s father, Curt Cokeley, is deceased.
“Bryan didn’t have a traditional path to college but he finally found a home in the Media Arts Program at Highlands,” LeRoy said. “Bryan’s design career path was just starting to blossom at the time he died.
“Bryan loved the university and Las Vegas, and we wanted to give back in some small way through this media arts scholarship. It’s gratifying to my family and me to see such a deserving young man like Jose benefit from this scholarship,” LeRoy said.
“When I found out about this scholarship, it was uplifting, and it’s certainly helping me financially,” Crespin said. “I’ve always had an interest in computers, and wanted to use computers to communicate with art. I think the media arts program is amazing, and the faculty is at design industry standards. I’ve learned so much.”
The $500 scholarship in memory of Bryan “Dutch” Cokeley will be awarded each fall to an outstanding media arts student.