Walter Dear endows new scholarship at FLC

Walter Dear, a friend and supporter of Fort Lewis College, has generously endowed a new scholarship with the Fort Lewis College Foundation. The new Walter Dear Scholarship will be an unrestricted scholarship, meaning that the Foundation can award it to any student with a financial need. At least $25,000 is needed to endow a scholarship program.

Fort Lewis College has kept its tuition affordable and more than doubled the amount it gives in scholarships, but a college education still represents a major financial investment for many students and families. That is why supporters like Walter are so crucial for students attending FLC.

For Walter, college is an opportunity for students to explore and discover what they’re passionate about, and that’s not something that students need to know on day one.

“You don’t have to know what it is that you want to do with the rest of your life,” he said. “[Students] can taste and sample. They can go study abroad.”

Studying abroad is something that is a little nearer to Walter’s heart as his own grandson, Kalen Dear, a student at Fort Lewis College, is studying abroad in Scotland. Kalen is a senior studying exercise science.

Helping other students see the world like his grandson, or take advantage of the countless other opportunities that a college education offers, is what motivates Walter. His generosity in creating the Walter Dear Scholarship will help ensure that those opportunities are open to Fort Lewis College students for years to come.