Former aerospace engineering student, Kenn Hall ’90 and his wife Melissa Hall ’91 with their son Hunter '22. |
Image: Courtesy of Kenn Hall
Melissa and Kenn Hall have established the Melissa ’91 and Kenn Hall ’90 Endowed Aerospace Engineering Scholarship and the Melissa ’91 and Kenn Hall ’90 Aerospace Engineering Excellence Endowment. Distributions from this scholarship will be used to provide one or more scholarships to full-time students in good standing pursuing an aerospace engineering degree. Distributions from the excellence endowment will be used to provide funds for recognized student organizations/clubs within the Department of Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University.
In high school, Kenn originally wanted to join the Air Force and be a fighter pilot. But when his eyesight started declining, he decided to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering instead. “I knew that Texas A&M had a strong aerospace program but didn’t know much about the university,” he said. “I was able to visit the campus a couple of times and met some really incredible people, from professors to students, and just fell in love with the place.”
As for Melissa, her brother attended Texas A&M so she was familiar with the university and knew it was a place she would like to attend. “I looked at other places too, but ultimately came back and chose Texas A&M,” she said.
Both Kenn and Melissa said that the Aggie network has been prevalent throughout their lives, and Kenn credits his aerospace degree from Texas A&M for launching his career at the Johnson Space Center. “Now, I am the president of a small business that is still doing work at NASA but also expanded into other government agencies,” he said. “The curriculum of my engineering degree and the values of Texas A&M helped me to become a leader and eventually run my own company.”
Similarly, Melissa said her accounting degree from Texas A&M launched her career at Ernst and Young. “My degree allowed me to have success working with a number of companies throughout the years,” she said.
When given the opportunity to meet with students as a part of the aerospace engineering external advisory board, Kenn noticed many student organizations’ continual need for resources like funds for travel or materials for their projects, etc.
“We were inspired to establish this excellence endowment by the dedication and hard work that students put in to further their college experience beyond just the classroom,” Kenn said. “We wanted to establish an endowment that would continue to help support the student organizations in years to come.”
As for the aerospace scholarship, Kenn and Melissa wanted to provide opportunities for other students to come to Texas A&M and become Aggies. “We were fortunate to attend Texas A&M and have our son attend as well, but we want to provide some support for those in the future.”
Instead of focusing on just one area to give back, Kenn and Melissa’s goal was to provide support in a number of areas they are passionate about. “Education is one of those areas of passion and Texas A&M played a big part in our education and still does today as our son Hunter will be a senior next year,” Kenn said.
Kenn is the president and CEO of Anadarko Industries, which provides engineering and IT support and services to the government and major government contractors. Melissa serves as the Controller at Blinn College. Their son Hunter ’22 is participating in the Mays PPA program pursuing degrees in accounting and finance.
In high school, Kenn originally wanted to join the Air Force and be a fighter pilot. But when his eyesight started declining, he decided to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering instead. “I knew that Texas A&M had a strong aerospace program but didn’t know much about the university,” he said. “I was able to visit the campus a couple of times and met some really incredible people, from professors to students, and just fell in love with the place.”
As for Melissa, her brother attended Texas A&M so she was familiar with the university and knew it was a place she would like to attend. “I looked at other places too, but ultimately came back and chose Texas A&M,” she said.
Both Kenn and Melissa said that the Aggie network has been prevalent throughout their lives, and Kenn credits his aerospace degree from Texas A&M for launching his career at the Johnson Space Center. “Now, I am the president of a small business that is still doing work at NASA but also expanded into other government agencies,” he said. “The curriculum of my engineering degree and the values of Texas A&M helped me to become a leader and eventually run my own company.”
Similarly, Melissa said her accounting degree from Texas A&M launched her career at Ernst and Young. “My degree allowed me to have success working with a number of companies throughout the years,” she said.
When given the opportunity to meet with students as a part of the aerospace engineering external advisory board, Kenn noticed many student organizations’ continual need for resources like funds for travel or materials for their projects, etc.
“We were inspired to establish this excellence endowment by the dedication and hard work that students put in to further their college experience beyond just the classroom,” Kenn said. “We wanted to establish an endowment that would continue to help support the student organizations in years to come.”
As for the aerospace scholarship, Kenn and Melissa wanted to provide opportunities for other students to come to Texas A&M and become Aggies. “We were fortunate to attend Texas A&M and have our son attend as well, but we want to provide some support for those in the future.”
Instead of focusing on just one area to give back, Kenn and Melissa’s goal was to provide support in a number of areas they are passionate about. “Education is one of those areas of passion and Texas A&M played a big part in our education and still does today as our son Hunter will be a senior next year,” Kenn said.
Kenn is the president and CEO of Anadarko Industries, which provides engineering and IT support and services to the government and major government contractors. Melissa serves as the Controller at Blinn College. Their son Hunter ’22 is participating in the Mays PPA program pursuing degrees in accounting and finance.
How to Give
The College of Engineering is one of the leading engineering programs in the United States, ranking first in undergraduate enrollment and ninth in graduate enrollment. Endowments supporting the students in the college have an immeasurable impact on their education. If you are interested in supporting the College of Engineering and its departments or would like more information on how you can give, please contact Meredith Brown, assistant director of development.