Robert Mason, a Texas Tech University alumnus and military veteran, has established a scholarship to support fellow veterans pursuing degrees in the university’s Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. Mason, whose family has a long history of military service dating back to the English Civil War, served 23 years in the U.S. Army before retiring as Chief Warrant Officer 3.
After his military career and work as a defense contractor, Mason decided to further his education. He chose Texas Tech for its reputable online programs, enrolling in the Department of Plant & Soil Science while balancing work and single parenthood. Reflecting on his experience at Texas Tech, Mason said, “I can say that Texas Tech, when they talk about how student-friendly they are, they’re 100% correct on that. They have bent over backward. Staff have bent over backward. Professors that I have had at Texas Tech, even though it was online, I’ve met them a couple of times, and five years later, I come back, and they still remember me. That’s one of the endearing things about Texas Tech.”
Mason graduated in 2016 and continued his studies at other institutions but credits Texas Tech for opening new opportunities in plant and soil science consulting and teaching. Inspired by the support he received—especially after exhausting his GI Bill benefits—he created the Veterans Helping Veterans Scholarship with an initial donation of $10,000 in July 2022. He later increased this amount to $25,000 to allow two recipients each year.
The scholarship aims to help veterans who no longer receive federal or state educational benefits such as those provided by the GI Bill or the Texas Hazelwood Act—a state program granting tuition exemption up to 150 credit hours for qualified veterans and their families at public institutions in Texas.
Mason explained his motivation: “Contrary to popular belief, the GI Bill does not cover everything. It doesn’t cover life. So, I thought, ‘It’s going to be a small scholarship, but I can help somebody with it.’ I started the Veterans Helping Veterans Scholarship with the hope that we could grow it over time and help more vets.”
If there are no eligible veterans or dependents enrolled in Plant & Soil Science during a given term, all students in Davis College who are veterans or verified dependents may apply.
James Awtrey is among recent recipients of the scholarship. A Lubbock native and Air Force veteran diagnosed with cancer after retiring from international government contracting work, Awtrey found comfort caring for plants during treatment—a process he described as emotionally therapeutic—and later enrolled at Texas Tech to study plant and soil science.
Awtrey said about receiving support: “It’s exciting because I feel like Chief Mason knows the struggle of being in the military… Of not having time to go to school when you’re finally out of the military and now trying to figure out how to catch up on all that you couldn’t do while you were on active duty. Chief gets that.
“I was deeply honored to receive the scholarship because I’d like to see more veterans end up in Davis College. His scholarship and personal commitment set the example for me and the other veterans in Davis College programs. My wife and I are now looking at ways to follow his example when I graduate.”
Mason hopes others will join him in growing the fund: “I want us to help each other. So if somebody else wants to donate that’s a veteran, let them put it in there… Let’s raise the amount that’s in there. Let’s help more vets.”
For information about contributing to scholarships supporting veterans at Texas Tech University’s Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources or details about tuition exemption programs such as the Hazelwood Act, resources are available through university channels.
