New scholarship will honor the memory of FarmHouse's Matthew Awbrey

A new endowed scholarship will help honor the memory of a TROY student who recently passed away.

The Matthew Spencer Awbrey Farmhouse Memorial Endowed Scholarship, established by Jodi and James Wells, will provide an annual $1,000 scholarship to a Farmhouse Fraternity member who maintains a 2.7 GPA and meets eligibility requirements of the fraternity.

“We hope this scholarship will assist other students to meet their financial needs while in college. It is often difficult for students and their families to juggle the expenses of both school and Greek life, and the hope is that with this scholarship, students who receive it can feel a bit of relief in that area,” said Jodi Wells. “We know that Matthew’s memory and legacy will live on through this for the students who are awarded the scholarship.”

Matthew Awbrey, left, Drew Wells and Charlie McCullough played soccer together, graduated Opelika High together and pledged FarmHouse at TROY together.

Wells, a TROY alumna with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees, said the Awbreys were just like family. Matthew and their oldest son, Andrew, hit it off at five or six years of age and the families remained close from then on.

“Over the years our families spent time together on and off the soccer field and my husband and I considered Matthew as one of our boys. I also serve as a part of the leadership team for our church youth group and Matthew and Andrew were involved in every activity offered there. I was privileged to work with Matthew for seven years while he was in the youth group. Those years consisted of many, many service projects, mission trips and leadership camps together,” she said.

When it came time to go to college, Wells said TROY was the choice for Matthew and Andrew, both pledging Farmhouse and being initiated together.

“Matthew’s uncle is a Farmhouse alumni and Matthew knew before arriving in Troy that he wanted to be a part of the brotherhood that meant so much to his uncle,” she said.

“Matthew’s time at TROY may have been short but during that time he built a circle of wonderful friends both in his fraternity and at the Wesley Foundation. He was so loved and there is no doubt he will always be remembered,” she added. “Our hope is that his name and legacy will carry on to future Trojans through this scholarship.”