Greg Lopez Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Purpose:
The Rocky Mountain News and the Lopez and Bohland families established this scholarship to provide an opportunity for a talented Metropolitan State University of Denver student to finish his or her education and to pursue a career in journalism. We hope those who benefit from this scholarship will use their talents to educate, entertain and inspire others as Greg Lopez did with his work and life. The journalism of Greg Lopez wasn’t about great villains or great heroes. Instead, he mined the rich human vein of the great in-between. He painted extraordinary portraits of ordinary people. Greg’s was not the journalism of the great, but it was surely great journalism. A Denver native, Greg graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 1979. He attended journalism school at the University of Missouri, graduating in 1983. His first newspaper job was at The Daily Iberian in New Iberia, Louisiana, where he was one of the youngest columnists in the nation. He left New Iberia for The Detroit News in1987. He joined the Rocky Mountains News in 1990 and wrote a popular column about people. Greg was killed in a car crash on March 17, 1996 at age 35.

Criteria:
• Be meeting the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements and cannot be in default or owe any refund/repayment of federal, state, or institutional aid.
• Have a financial need as determined by FAFSA/CASFA and the Metropolitan State University of Denver Office Financial Aid and Scholarships
• Have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours
• Be taking a minimum of 12 credit hours during the semester(s) the scholarship is received
• Have a declared major
• Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5
• Submit an autobiography of no more than 500 words that addresses the following: Tell us about yourself, your goals, the adversity you have faced, and what you hope to achieve with an MSU Denver scholarship. The Donor wishes to emphasize the importance of the essay in the selection and as a key part of the scholarship application that will be judged on its creativity, writing quality, and focused responses to the Donor’s questions.

Preference for this scholarship is given to:
• Students with a declared major or minor in Journalism
• Pell-eligible students
• ASSET/DACA students