Alexis Freeman of Brookside, Kentucky, was announced Friday as the first recipient of the Evan Glenn Martin Endowed Scholarship, established last week at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKCTC).

Barbara and Glenn Saylor of Baxter, Kentucky, and their daughter, Shannon Fuson, of Cumberland, Kentucky, established the scholarship in memory of Fuson’s son who died in an auto accident in 2013 at age 17. Martin’s late grandmother, Edna Martin, and other family and friends also contributed to this new scholarship fund.

“We are touched that the family has sought to remember their loved one by providing educational opportunities for students at Southeast,” said Dr. Patsy Jackson, interim president at SKCTC. “They recognize the life-changing impact of education in the lives of our students and our region.”

The fund, created in partnership with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and the Southeast Education Foundation, will provide financial support to students from Harlan County who are preparing to transfer to baccalaureate programs.

The family remembered Martin as a “wonderful and kind-hearted young man who had so much potential.” They seek to help similar students from the region to have what he never had the opportunity to do in pursuing his college education.

“I’m honored to be the first recipient of this scholarship and hope to make the family proud as I pursue my associate of science degree,” said Freeman, who will receive the $1,000 scholarship for the 2024-25 year. “I am very grateful for the Saylors and this scholarship. I value their investment in my education, and it will help me immensely in this coming academic year.”

For more information or to contribute, please contact Dr. Lee Harrison, SKCTC Dean of Advancement and PR, at 606.589.3152 or lee.harrison@kctcs.edu.