Scholarships: The Gift of Time Well Spent

For Kole Hawkins, there’s no greater gift than time – and thanks to the scholarship support he received at South Dakota State, he’s not taking a moment of his Jackrabbit experience for granted.

A sophomore ag engineering major, Kole vividly remembers the night he found out he’d been selected for the Briggs Scholarship. It was 2023, and he and his family were piled in the car on the way home from one of his high school football games. His parents, grandparents, and extended family were squeezed into one vehicle, heading to Kole’s house for a celebratory dinner. When they neared home, Kole jumped out at the mailbox, located at the end of a quarter-mile driveway leading to the ranch, and unearthed a large, blue envelope. Back in the car, he tore open the flap and pulled out a letter that changed the course of his life. As Kole read aloud the news of his scholarship, the entire family interrupted to cheer and holler as they thundered down the driveway, talking excitedly about the future that was suddenly within reach. 

Hailing from Cedaredge, Colorado, Kole grew up on a cattle ranch with about 500 acres of farmland, an operation that’s been in the Hawkins family for nearly a century. When the time came to explore his college options, he cast a wide net, intent on a university that could help him grow his family legacy in agriculture and educate him in the people-centered side of engineering. Having been raised on a farm, Kole was all too familiar with the many problems and inefficiencies prevalent in the ag industry, and he sought a degree that would help him address the challenges our nation’s producers face.  

^{Pictured above: Kole Hawkins smiles with his mother and father and presents on stage during his time as a State FFA Officer in Colorado.}

Kole hit a snag in his search for colleges when it came to finances. Though several had offered him scholarships, his service as a State FFA Officer in Colorado required him to take a “gap year” of sorts after graduation as he toured the state to fulfill his duties and help current FFA students develop leadership skills. When his obligatory year was up, each institution informed him that his scholarships had effectively been rescinded.  

South Dakota State was different. When Kole made the sixteen-hour commute to explore his potential as a Jackrabbit, he was floored by the sense of community he encountered. A tour with a student ambassador felt like being welcomed home, and, best of all, SDSU was more than willing to honor the scholarship offer he’d received back in high school.  

“When I went on a tour here, it felt like talking to a student and not a salesperson,” he reflected. “I love that you can talk to any student, faculty, or staff and they are not just understanding, but also genuine with their advice, assistance, and friendships.” 

Kole’s first tour and introduction to the university inspired him to be a part of the action by working as an admissions ambassador, playing a key role in delivering a meaningful first impression for future students, just like his own. It’s a job he relishes still today, readily admitting that he wouldn’t have the chance to serve as an ambassador without the funding of the Briggs Scholarship.  

“I could structure my time around involvement, leadership, and building relationships,” Kole explains. “Having that support gave me the freedom to engage in what SDSU has to offer.”  

In his first few years at State, Kole has dived headfirst into his college experience, and he has the jam-packed schedule to show for it. On top of his position as an admissions ambassador, he’s involved in Jacks Ag Tech and Engineering Club. He was an integral part of planning a student trip to the Commodity Classic in February 2026, with 42 students jetting off to San Antonio to the country’s largest farmer-led and farmer-focused agricultural trade show. Kole summarizes the event as a means to give “students direct access to the people and companies shaping agriculture.”  

Technically, his adventures as a Jackrabbit began even before his first semester at SDSU, with Kole joining the Jacks Start Abroad Program in a pivotal trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. Through that travel opportunity, the group had a jump-start in forging lasting friendships, exploring a foreign country, and gaining invaluable knowledge in their chosen field. Kole describes the Netherlands as one of the best places on earth for ag students like him to visit, since 65% of the country would be underwater at high tide, if not for the sophisticated network of levees and dikes the country's developed. With centuries of agricultural ingenuity, the Netherlands made an unlikely environment viable for crops.

In summer 2026, he’ll seize another experience SDSU has to offer by joining an academic trip to Australia – but Kole’s journey at SDSU has been transformative not just because of global opportunities or impressive resume fodder, though he’s got those in spades. The past two years for Kole have been free of financial burdens, and he’s used that time to collect countless memories and moments that will stick with him for life.  

The relationships and connections that Kole seems to value most stem from everyday interactions that prove he’s exactly where he’s meant to be. He fondly recalls partaking in the Bum-A-Meal tradition in his first Hobo Day, enjoying a home-cooked dinner with an alum and making plans to keep the tradition alive someday by doing the same. He’s found an ever-present mentor in Professor Todd Trooien '83/M.S. '85, who’s been involved in his career at State since day one: On an interview panel for the Briggs Scholarship, in the classroom, and now serving as Kole’s boss. He lights up when he describes his courses in Honors Calculus with Dr. Christine Larson, marveling at her unique teaching strategy where students skip sitting in desks and instead stand in small groups around whiteboards, collaborating for the full class period to solve equations together. Moments like those are only a few that account for Kole’s exceptional time as a Jackrabbit – and it’s time he truly considers a gift.  

In many ways, the scholarship he’s received has raised Kole’s expectations for himself, explaining that, “If someone is investing in me, then I need to make that investment worthwhile.” He intends to do so by staying in South Dakota for several years after graduation, dreaming of working on projects he believes will impact people every day for the better.  

It’s been nearly three years since Kole and his family first opened that blue envelope from SDSU. What followed has been a journey of personal and professional growth, punctuated by priceless experiences and an unparalleled sense of community. The future he’s found as a Jackrabbit has been more than worth cheering for. 

“This scholarship has allowed me to invest in SDSU the same way others have invested in me. I hope I leave SDSU better than I found it,” he says. “If I can look back and know that I made individuals and programs stronger or I helped move things forward, then I will consider my time here well spent.”