Mogonye family establishes endowed scholarship at Tarleton

STEPHENVILLE (February 20, 2018) — Ask relatives of the Mrs. Emil Mogonye family, and they’ll tell you they proudly “Bleed Purple.”

This past weekend, members of the family gathered to officially establish a scholarship endowment at Tarleton State University on Feb. 17, creating a lasting legacy at their alma mater to benefit students originating from Central Texas.

The Mogonye Family Scholarship Endowment will provide funds annually to deserving full-time students attending Tarleton that graduated from a high school in Bastrop, Williamson or Lee counties. Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio welcomed the Mogonye relatives and joined them for an afternoon scholarship signing ceremony at the first family’s on-campus residence, Trogdon House.

Development staff and administrators of Tarleton State University pose with members of the Mogonye family at the Trogdon House following a document signing ceremony officially establishing the Mogonye Family Scholarship Endowment benefitting students who’ve graduated from a high school within Bastrop, Lee or Williamson counties. Pictured are (front, l-r) Kurt Mogonye, Jake and Jennifer Mogonye, Suzanne and Roger Mogonye, Judy Mogonye Lloyd, Dr. Jason Mogonye; (back, l-r) Janice Horak, Dr. Kyle McGregor, Jennifer Hawthorne, Wayne Davenport, Cori Brown, Callie Fender and Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio.

The late Emil Mogonye and wife Janelle Mogonye sent all three of their children to study at Tarleton, including Roger and Tracy Mogonye, all of Elgin, and Judy Mogonye Lloyd of Stephenville, Texas. It’s also the campus where Roger met his future wife, Suzanne Gibson Mogonye, and where four of the couple’s children and a daughter-in-law also attended: Dr. Jason Mogonye, M.D. of Fort Worth, Whitney Mogonye of Elgin, Jennifer and Jake Mogonye of Elgin, and Justin Mogonye of Round Rock. Also graduating from Tarleton is grandson Kurt Mogonye, who is a professional staff member with the university’s Division of Institutional Advancement and Marketing & Communications Department.

In addition to those family members from Elgin, several other grandchildren of Janelle Mogonye’s also attended Tarleton, including: Scott Lloyd of Lockhart, Texas; Sally and Rob Lloyd of Stephenville, Texas; Erin and David Lloyd of Godley, Texas; as well as Rachel Young, who is a current graduate student.

This past year, the Mogonye family decided to create the family scholarship endowment as a way to give back to its beloved university and assist students for generations to come as they pursue a higher education at Tarleton. Through the years, the Mogonyes have seen their alma mater grow from approximately 3,000 students in the 1970s to more than 13,000 currently enrolled at Tarleton’s four campuses in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco and Midlothian.