Neuroscience Scholarship Pays Tribute to Graduate’s Memory

Ian Jasheway BS’15 had many passions in life — playing his favorite card game Magic: The Gathering, volunteering with the elderly and competing with friends in swimming and schoolwork. He especially enjoyed working in Dr. Bruce Gnade’s materials science lab and studying in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, as he trained to become an intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) specialist.

When Jasheway died in August 2020, his mother, Teresa Hawkins, and her family chose to honor his life by creating the Ian Jasheway Memorial Scholarship in Neuroscience at UT Dallas.

“Through the scholarship we’re hopefully helping educate students who will help others in the future,” Hawkins said. “I want to help others because that’s who Ian was. This is a way for Ian to continue to be with us.”

The scholarship is awarded annually to a neuroscience student with at least a 3.0 GPA. The first recipient, senior neuroscience student Diane Bahena, had the opportunity to meet Hawkins and learn about Jasheway.

“All of Ian’s accomplishments were so impressive,” Bahena said. “Being the first recipient of this scholarship, I want to accomplish big things, too, to help continue Ian’s legacy and inspire those who receive this scholarship in the future.”

BBS appealed to Jasheway in part because the school offered both psychology and neuroscience programs. After transferring from Tarrant County College, Jasheway found his second home at UT Dallas.

“He could have been lost at a bigger university, but I felt like he was met with kindness, guidance and sincere concern at UT Dallas,” Hawkins said. “He studied materials science under Gnade and formed close friendships with classmates and roommates.”

When graduation approached, Jasheway applied to medical school and pursued additional certification to begin his career as an IONM specialist.

“Ian liked making a difference and was proud of how important the IONM role is for reducing the risk of serious complications during brain surgery,” Hawkins said.

Finding a way to honor Jasheway was a goal that Hawkins, her five siblings and Ian’s brothers joined together to do after his death. The family worked for two years, holding Magic: The Gathering tournaments and other fundraisers, as well as securing corporate matching gifts to create the Ian Jasheway Memorial Scholarship in Neuroscience.

“We wanted to help fund people being educated in a field that would help other kids when they’re having emotional problems, rather than just medicating them until they’re quiet,” Hawkins said. “It’s a small piece of him that lives on. It’s like Ian, and who he was, stays alive.”