Jane Ferguson Memorial Endowed Scholarship
From the time she was a little girl, Jane Worth Ferguson was building tents out of sheets in the yard of her home in Southern Indiana. Jane took both solace and inspiration from nature. She worked in a variety of outdoor settings and as an instructor for both the Voyageur Outward Bound School in Red Lodge, Montana, as well as in Yellowstone National Park. A strong advocate of community service, Jane was a certified Wilderness EMT, served as vice president of Carbon County Search and Rescue, and was a volunteer with the Red Lodge Ambulance Service. In 2002, she co-founded Café Regis in Red Lodge, trading days spent in nature for the chance to build new connections to her much-loved community. Yet she remained fiercely devoted to the backcountry, continuing to explore wild nooks and crannies from the Rocky Mountains to the North Woods to the Arctic Circle. Jane often expressed the hope that when her life came to an end, it would be somewhere in the wild, doing what she loved. Jane passed away in May 2005 following a canoeing accident in the wilds of Northern Ontario. In her memory, family and friends established the Jane Ferguson Memorial Endowed Scholarship to provide financial assistance to MSU Billings students who are residents of Carbon County or graduates of a high school in Carbon County. The first scholarship was awarded in academic year 2006-2007.
Impact
“I cannot express my sincere gratitude or the enthusiasm I feel to be chosen as a recipient of the Jane Ferguson Memorial Endowed Scholarship. While the circumstances surrounding the existence of this scholarship are deeply unfortunate, it exists to celebrate the life of a beautiful person. Had I known Jane, I think we would have been good friends. Everything about her resonates with me, and I am deeply moved to be receiving this scholarship. Our environment, the protection of wild places, and the health and happiness of our community are all very important to me. Hopefully the path I am on can improve them all in the future, and my intentions with my education and our community in Red Lodge would make Jane happy. I’ve very grateful to receive a scholarship in her name. Thank you so much for your generosity!” — Bridget B., Nursing major