Emma Chatham Standish Endowed Scholarship
Emma Chatham was born on December 26, 1908, at her aunt’s home in Rotten Grass, five miles south of Lodge Grass, Montana. Emma married at age 14 and never had children. She lived her entire life on the reservation, raising cattle and quarter horses. She bought land abutting her own every chance she got and sold her ranch in the late 1980s, realizing a healthy profit. In 1991 Emma established an anonymous scholarship endowment at Eastern Montana College (now MSU Billings) to support non-traditional secondary education majors. Emma passed away on October 5, 1992, at which time the scholarship endowment was renamed in her honor and memory. The first scholarship was awarded in academic year 1992-1993.
Impact
“I am forever grateful to have been chosen as a recipient of the Emma Chatham Memorial Endowed Scholarship. Thank you so much! My son and I actually live below the poverty level for a one-person household, so I really appreciate that you have chosen to help me out of my mounting loans, which have me very nervous. However, I know the choice to follow my dreams and go to college was the right decision for my son and I. As a lackluster secondary student, one of the scariest things I have ever done was walking onto campus that first day. As I watched young people coming and going, I wondered if they knew that I was dying inside. The campus seemed so vast and intimidated me, as did some of my classmates. I have been on the Dean’s list for academic excellence almost every semester of my college experience, and recently has three 4.0 semesters in a row. I have made that once intimidating campus my home, and have made many friends along the way. Thank you again for your kindness and generosity.” — Tracey Miller, History major with a teaching option