Donor's Generosity Amazes Senior Walters Scholar

Tyler Blystone, a senior Wildlife and Fisheries Management major from Mt. Juliet, Tenn., is a four-year recipient of the Senator Herbert S. Walters Scholarship.

Tyler, along with his older brother, a Tennessee Tech graduate, is a first generation college student.

“From day one, my father told me to work hard to make good grades and excel in the classroom, so I could attend college and take advantage of opportunities that weren’t available to my mother and him.”

“I’ve always taken pride in my academics,” said Tyler. “I knew that if I worked hard, I could achieve my goals. One day out of the blue, before my freshman semester, I got a letter in the mail from UT, informing me that I’d been awarded the Walters Scholarship. What a day that was!”

Tyler chose to attend the University of Tennessee Knoxville because of the impressive programs and faculty at the Institute of Agriculture. Once on campus, he was even more impressed with the countless opportunities made available to him.

Tyler knew he wanted to pursue a career in natural resources, but decided to target wildlife over forestry as his primary study area. His interest in wildlife stems from his background as a Boy Scout. “It’s a lot more fun to play with live things than something that takes 100 years to grow,” Tyler, and Eagle Scout, joked.

Tyler says his most rewarding experiences at UT have been working with outstanding professors and wildlife professionals around the region on a daily basis.

The Walters Scholarship, which funds Tyler’s tuition each semester, has been “incredible,” according to the senior. “Before the news of the Walters Scholarship came, I was planning to rely on college loans and part-time jobs to get me through school.”

“Not having to have the burden of a part-time job has made my experience at UT, both in and out of the classroom so much better,” said Tyler. It’s allowed me to become very involved in my major. I’m the Vice President of the UT chapter of the National Wildlife Society, which has broadened my horizons.”

Herbert Walters was a native of Jefferson County, Tennessee and attended UT from 1915-1918. He became a prominent banker in East Tennessee before being elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. In 1963, Walters was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Senator Estes Kefauver. Walters served in the Senate from 1963-1964 and was a member of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees from 1961-1973.

Senator Walters and his wife, Sarah, established the Walters Scholarship Endowment via a charitable trust fund, which upon their deaths would fund undergraduate scholarships at UT. The endowment, the second largest in UT's history at the time, has been awarded to more than 400 deserving UT undergraduates since its inception in 1990.

Since his freshman year, Tyler has attended the annual Walters Scholarship luncheon. The event gives him and his fellow Walters Scholars a unique opportunity to get to know Senator Walters’ sister Sarah Louise Mott of Knoxville, along with her nephew Greg Spain and his wife Annemarie of Morristown, Tenn.

“It makes me appreciate the scholarship even more,” Tyler says of the scholarship luncheons. “To be able to see Senator Walters’ family, shake their hands, and thank them in person is a special thing.”

Senator Walters’ legacy and impact on higher education spreads itself across the East Tennessee landscape. The Walters Life Science Building on the Knoxville campus is named in honor of Senator Walters, as is Walters State Community College in Morristown.

Tyler says it’s a special feeling to know that he is carrying on Senator Walters’ legacy at UT. “It’s amazing to think about Senator Walters investing in so many students, even though he would never meet us or live to see the great things his generosity would give us the opportunity to achieve.”