SPC recognizes Paige Ward as 2025 Student of the Year recipient

LEVELLAND – Paige Ward of Grove City, Ohio, was named the 2025 recipient of the South Plains College President’s Student of the Year award. Ward received the award during the Spring 2025 afternoon commencement ceremony on May 9 in the Texan Dome.

The President’s Student of the Year is an honor presented annually to an outstanding student who exemplifies excellence in academics and has contributed the most to the SPC campus environment. It is the highest recognition a student can receive at the college.

Ward, a chemistry major who started at SPC in the summer of 2023, said she is honored to receive the award and is grateful to the college

 for selecting her.

“It’s bittersweet because I’m going to miss SPC,” she said. “I love the students; I love the teachers. There’s no other place I’d rather be.”

When her husband, Jacob, was in the military, he wanted to attend Texas Tech University. Ward also wanted to start her higher education and learned about SPC from co-workers.

Ward graduated with an Associate of Science in chemistry and has taken pre-requisites for pharmacy education. From the faculty to her peers, she said she made connections at SPC that she could not make anywhere else.

“I love the campus,” she said. “I like the class sizes, as you can talk to your professors more easily than at a larger institution.”

When she had a question, Ward said her teachers always took time to talk to her. In addition to study rooms, the library database and other resources on campus, she enjoyed using the Success Team function on her MySPC webpage to get in touch with a program adviser.

“A lot of people don’t know they have it,” she said regarding Success Team. “It’s nice to talk to an adviser who’s a teacher and knows the next steps in a program.”

Laci Alexander, professor of chemistry, and Robert Plant, assistant professor of mathematics, are a few SPC faculty members whom Ward had the pleasure of meeting. She said they have been her cheerleaders since she started at the college.

“They’ve always helped me through problems or helped me find someone who can help,” she said. “When I felt discouraged, they reminded me that being a student is a journey, and I need to pace myself.”

When not studying, Ward participated in the SPC Science Club and the Bridges Across Texas - Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (BAT-LSAMP) partnership. She also served as the president of SPC Student Life’s Texas Activities Council.

Ward was a part of the SPC Honors Program and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She has been recognized on the dean’s list and won two other student awards: Outstanding Student in Pre-Pharmacy and the Louis Stokes Alliance for STEM awards.

In addition, Ward is a recipient of the SPC Founders Opportunity Scholarship, Neal and Carolyn Ellis Scholarship and the Louis Stokes Alliances Scholarship.

Ward is the daughter of Jeff and Vicki Mayer and is a graduate of Grove City High School. Regarding her time after SPC, she said she applied to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s pharmacy program and wants to do an oncology or geriatrics fellowship at some point.

“Some people don’t realize how important pharmacists are,” she said. “They work with people to ensure they stay on life-saving medications.”

Helping people overcome their medical issues is one of Ward’s career goals. She said she credits SPC for helping her get closer to this goal.

“I’m just thankful for my time at SPC,” she said. “I don’t think I would be in the same position if I went anywhere else, and I don’t think my education would be the same. SPC does not get enough credit.”