Brady Award marks 20th, seeks donations

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Jon E. Brady Award in Political Studies, past winners attended a special luncheon. L-r: Daniel Gallegos, 2008 Brady Award winner, formerly a military liaison for U.S. Senator John Barrasso and now a full-time political science instructor at Casper College; Jon E. Brady for whom the award was named; Rachelle Trujillo, 2021 Brady Award winner; Charity LaFountain, 2014 Brady Award winner and field representative for U.S. Congresswoman Liz Cheney; Landree Adams, 2019 Brady Award winner currently completing her Bachelor of Social Work degree; and Stacey Smith, 2020 Brady Award winner currently working on her degree in history. (Casper College photo)

Named after Jon E. Brady, instructor emeritus of political science at Casper College, the Jon E. Brady Award in Political Studies celebrated its 20th anniversary at a special luncheon. The luncheon was attended by Brady, Erich Frankland, political science instructor, and several past winners of the award.

According to Frankland, the Brady Award recognizes one top student in either political science, international studies, or history since 2002. “The award was named for Jon, who taught at Casper College for 30 years and was personally active in local and state politics,” said Frankland. During his career at the college, Brady, who retired in 1998, showed students how to look at politics from a variety of angles, including international perspectives, said Frankland.

Students who apply for the award must address their interests in politics in their essay and provide two letters of reference.

The winners for the past 20 years include Martha Bodyfelt, 2002; Scott Murray, 2003; Naomi Seino, 2004; Dan Bush, 2005; Katrina Rasmussen, 2006; Patrick Lewallen, 2007; Daniel Gallegos, 2008; Jeff Piel, 2009; Stephen Hudson, 2010; Amanda Moeller, 2011; Katherine Dials, 2012; Michael W. McDaniel Jr., 2013; Charity LaFountain, 2014; Mickala Schmidt, 2015; Elizabeth Walsh, 2016; Lucas Davis, 2017; Chloe Adkins, 2018; Landree Adams and Emma Rogers, 2019; Stacey Smith, 2020; and Rachelle Trujillo, 2021.

Those interested in donating to the Jon E. Brady Award in Political Studies and helping to increase its value can visit the Casper College Foundation donation site at caspercollegefoundation.org.