SAU names 2023 Hallman Scholarship inductees
By Dale Gathright, Jr., 03/18/23 8:42 PM
The Southern Arkansas University Hallman Scholarship has been awarded to four promising 2023 freshmen women.
Funded by SAU Foundation’s Cinda Hallman Scholarship Endowment, the Hallman Scholarship provides scholarships for incoming freshman women in the College of Science and Engineering. The 2023 inductees are as follows: Sophy Tyson of Hope, Arkansas; Emily Leyden of Lewisville, Texas; Julia DeSalvo of Center Ridge, Arkansas; and, Kelli Minge of Cabot, Arkansas.
Sophy Tyson
Garrett Memorial Christian School senior and valedictorian Sophy Tyson always knew she was going to SAU.
Sophy Tyson
“It’s the only college I listed on my FAFSA,” Tyson said with a smile.
Daughter of ’93 SAU alum Jim and sister to current Mulerider Libby, blue and gold runs in the Tyson family’s veins. Receiving the Hallman scholarship was further validation that SAU was exactly where Sophy needed to be.
“I’m so grateful to represent Ms. Hallman’s ideals and expectations as a young woman. It is an honor. I hope to have as positive of an impact on this world as she did,” Tyson said.
A fan of Grey’s Anatomy and daughter to a dentist, Sophy has been interested in the medical profession for as long as she can remember. But, it wasn’t until she broke her collar bone during a basketball game and experienced the kindness of her nurses that Sophy solidified her decision to study nursing at SAU.
“I can’t think of a more rewarding job,” she said. “As a nurse, I’d get to help and meet new people every day and call it work.”
Though SAU’s nursing program boasts stellar NCLEX pass rates and state-of-the-art simulation equipment, Sophy is most excited about the small classes sizes and caring faculty that make SAU feel like her hometown of Hope, Arkansas.
The Cinda Hallman Scholarship
Cinda Hallman was a 1966 SAU graduate and 1999 recipient of the SAU Distinguished Alumni Award. As one of four women leading Fortune 500 companies when she became CEO of Spherion Corporation, Hallman had already received international recognition for her 20-year career at DuPont Global Systems and Purchases. At DuPont, she served as senior vice president and was named Chief Information Officer of the Year by Information Week Magazine for “reshaping DuPont’s information systems organization to meet the changing competitive needs of its business units.”
Dedicated to providing opportunities for women, Hallman provided funds for the scholarship through her estate with an aim to support incoming freshmen women in the College of Science and Engineering.
