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Jenna Hendrickson and Brady Papay, both students at Ft. Hays (Kan.) State University, and Austin Camara and Paisley Gallegos, both students at Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte, Nebraska, are recipients of $500 scholarships each.
enna Hendrickson, Spearville, Kan., will begin her junior year of school at Ft. Hays State this fall, majoring in animal science. She competes in the breakaway roping and is president of the Ft. Hays State Rodeo Club. Hendrickson didn’t begin riding until December 2024 and started roping on horseback in June of last year.
She is the daughter of John and Teri Hendrickson.
Brady Papay, a team roper from Mead, Kan., will graduate in December 2027 with a degree in Ag Business. He, like Hendrickson, didn’t start rodeoing until he was in college. High school sports were his preference, until he graduated from high school. Then he followed in his dad’s footsteps as a team roper.
He is the son of Kenneth Papay.
Team roper Austin Camara finished his second year of schooling at Mid-Plains and will return for a third year, to work towards an associates degree in building and construction.
A native of Kalaheo, Hawaii, Camara ventured to the mainland to attend college, following in the footsteps of good friends with encouragement from his rodeo coach, Aukai Kaai, also a Hawaii native.
Camara is the son of August and Ginger Camara.
Barrel racer Paisley Gallegos will be a second-year student at Mid-Plains, working towards an associate of arts with a business certificate.
The Keenesburg, Colorado cowgirl is leaning towards equine dentistry after she graduates next May.
She is the daughter of Chris and Susan Gallegos.
The scholarship has come in handy, students said.
Everything is expensive, said Hendrickson, “especially in this day and age. Diesel is expensive, and feeding a horse is expensive. Every little bit counts.”
In North Platte, Camara works part time but it’s tough to get work hours between classes. “The scholarship money truly helped me quite a bit,” he said, “with paying off the rest of my classes and getting through rodeo season.”
The Phillipsburg rodeo has been awarding college scholarships since 1996, with more than sixty students benefitting.
This year’s rodeo is July 30-31-August 1 with performances beginning at 8 pm each night.
Tickets are on sale at KansasBiggestRodeo.com and range in price from $13-$17 for children and $18-$22 for adults.
For more information, visit the website or call 785.543.2448.
