A fighting legacy

Trevor Grant ’10 always manages to set himself apart from the crowd and at 25, he’s already left a legacy to the Illinois State University. A couple of them.

During the University’s first football game against the University of Illinois in 2003, Grant helped the Redbirds hold their own against the Illini. As the Reggie Redbird mascot, Grant led the crowd in cheering the Redbirds. The team set records in the Illini’s Memorial Stadium, putting up a fierce fight against the Big 10 team.

“Our team comes in and starts setting records in their own house. It was wild,” Grant said.

Off the field, he served as a combat medic in the National Guard, seeing to the safety of his fellow soldiers while in hostile territory. His service earned him numerous awards, including an Army Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terror Medal, and a NATO Service Medal.

While other soldiers used their precious free time watching DVDs or playing games, Grant had his nose buried in textbooks. He completed his capstone paper focusing on war and defense economics as they relate to conflict theory. The paper was presented at the Midwest Economics Association—a first for an undergraduate Illinois State economics major.

What most do not know is that Grant set himself apart from his peers yet again before leaving for his tour in Afghanistan. He created the Trevor Grant Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship will provide support to a student majoring in economics who has a proven academic record and is involved in community service.

The scholarship ensures that Grant’s legacy will live on through future economics students. It also completes a circle of giving. Grant benefited from a donor’s kindness himself as an undergraduate who received a scholarship from the Scott Elliott Endowment in Economics.