Student Awarded The McBride Berman Family Scholarship

This fall, EKU’s Berman Center for Professional Sales scholarship committee announced  the inaugural awarding of the McBride Berman Family Scholarship to a very deserving Marketing and Sales Minor student, Stryder Shepherd.  This is a fantastic honor, and it is also very exciting as the new scholarship can be awarded annually because of the kind generosity of Maribeth and Louis Berman. 

In his recent essay to apply for The McBride Berman Family Scholarship, Stryder Shepherd submitted the following, "In my time at Eastern Kentucky University, it took me a while to find what I am truly passionate about.  I stumbled through three different declared majors until I found my footing.  I am now a declared marketing major, and I am pursuing a minor in sales." 

Having found his passion, Stryder set to work building an impressive track record of leadership positions, including taking on his role as President of Pi Sigma Epsilon sales fraternity at EKU. As President, Stryder Stryder has also represented EKU’s Berman Center for Professional Sales in a number of local, regional and national collegiate sales competitions. Stryder’s passion and hard work align perfectly with the vision set by Louis and Maribeth Berman.

"We believe in the power of a college education," said Maribeth Berman, "and we believe that education isn't just in the classroom but also in public lecture series, student organizations, intramural and varsity sports, and other activities that make up a total college experience.  It is our hope that portions of our pledge will go toward programs that will ignite a passion in students - a passion they maybe didn't know they had." 

The 2021-2022 Scholarship award was a difficult choice for the scholarship committee due to the number of high-quality candidates in the review process.  Students must be full-time EKU students in good academic standing who are graduates of a Madison County, Kentucky high school.  They must also demonstrate a high level of student involvement and leadership experience. 

Beyond his strong academic performance and involvement with Pi Sigma Epsilon, Stryder has held sales positions with Fastenal, Bandalier / Gridwise and he currently works at Demand, Inc.  Other leadership positions that Stryder has held while at EKU include Historian, Philanthropy Chairman and member of the Standards Board for Theta Chi Fraternity.  

Stryder will also be one of the first students to graduate with the newly introduced Sales Minor. Eastern Kentucky University proudly began to offer this minor in the Fall of 2021. This distinguishes Eastern Kentucky as the first college or university in the state of Kentucky to offer a focused program in sales education.

Published on September 27, 2021