Texas A&M University-Texarkana awards 2025 Scott Bruner Award for Visionary Student Leadership

TEXARKANA, Texas - Texas A&M University-Texarkana held a luncheon on May 9, 2025, to honor the nominees and the winner of the 2025 Scott Bruner Award for Visionary Student Leadership. The Bruner Award provides recognition for those hardworking individuals who strive to make A&M-Texarkana a better place for students to live, learn, and grow. Based solely on leadership and service to the University, this distinguished award is given to a student who exhibits ethical, creative leadership and promotes a positive campus climate while remaining in good academic standing. The award recognizes students who embody four key values: service, leadership, impact, and community building.

The award is named for Scott Bruner, whose visionary leadership and steadfast dedication helped build not just the physical structures of the University, but also the strong foundation of support and connection that defines the university community today. His efforts continue to shape the student experience in powerful ways.

The winner of this year's Scott Bruner Award for Visionary Student Leadership is Sykora Guy. Sykora is a sophomore sports management major from Pampa, Texas and is a founding member of A&M-Texarkana's esports team.

"Sykora Guy is inspiring, future minded and actively empowers others as the coordinator of TAMUTs inaugural Esports team," said Scott Bruner, who presented the award personally. "She embodies leadership qualities of Texarkana's Ross Perot, the leader we profiled at lunch today. She, like Ross, epitomizes a visionary leader, which is why I am thrilled to present her with this award."

"I want to recognize all of the students who were nominated for the Scott Bruner Award for Visionary Student Leadership," said A&M-Texarkana President Dr. Ross Alexander. "Being nominated for this prestigious award speaks volumes about their character, work ethic, and leadership skills. Our winner, Sykora Guy, transferred to A&M-Texarkana this year to be a part of our inaugural esports team. Her positive impact on our campus was immediate, and she epitomizes the type of student we love to have on campus. She's a smart, driven, and service-oriented student who will go on to do great things when her time here is done."

Other nominees for the award included Rikia Johnson, Baylee Stautzenberger, Jonathan Rios, Lydia Martin, and Sinead Smith.