Hunter Watkins Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Hunter grew up in the small northeast Texas town of Atlanta. He graduated from Atlanta High School in 2012, where he was a member of the high school golf team for four years. During his senior year in high school he was accepted into Sam Houston State University’s PGA Golf Management Program. He attended Sam Houston from fall of 2013 until the end of fall semester 2014. The prior year he struggled with intermittent pain in his left hand. After multiple x-rays and MRJ’s, on January 2, 2014 he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone/soft tissue cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma. The Watkins family’s world was forever changed. Hunter fought the disease with courage, strength, and determination they had never known possible. From that point on, he lived every day to the fullest despite the horrible side effects of the treatments. He had a passion for life and people. He had a gift of being able to talk to people and make them feel special. His goofy sense of humor kept everyone laughing and he would find the good in a not so good situation. He has left a lasting mark on most that knew him. I/is motto was ‘’YOLO", you only live once. It is an honor for Sam Houston State University and PGA Golf Management Program to even consider a scholarship endowment in Hunter’s memory. A special thanks to Rich Ballinger for initiating the endowment. Also, to the PGM Program for their commitment to allocate proceeds from the Friends and Family tournament to this fund. The Watkins family cannot think of a better way to honor the memory of their dear son Hunter. His legacy lives on and the endowed scholarship will help future PGM students at Sam Houston State in years to come.