From Wyoming With Love – Part 3

Meet UW Trustees’ Scholars Award alumni living and working in Wyoming.

 

By Micaela Myers

 

The University of Wyoming Trustees’ Scholars Award is the premier scholarship for Wyoming’s top high school students. Hundreds of students have benefited from the award over the years, and in this issue, UWyo Magazine sat down with 20 former scholars living and working in Wyoming. These alumni are giving back to the state that supported them throughout their education. They represent a small sampling of alumni award winners living around the state and across the country. These scholars leveraged the support Wyoming gave them and turned it into big impacts in their industries, families, states and communities.

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Entrepreneur Brady Wagstaff
Hometown: Evanston
UW degrees: B.E. in computer engineering, 2022; M.S. in electrical engineering, 2023

Growing up in Evanston, Brady Wagstaff originally looked to Utah for college until UW offered him the Trustees’ Scholars Award.

“The Trustees’ Scholars Award helps keep people in the state, especially our higher-performing students,” he says. “The funding was incredibly helpful. It allowed me the time and the flexibility to focus on classes and do research instead of having a second job.”

Wagstaff spent three summers helping electrical engineering Professor Suresh Muknahallipatna with the Engineering Summer Program for Teachers. This professional development workshop teaches Wyoming’s K–12 teachers how to use physical computing to engage students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Wagstaff also dedicated several years to researching and designing a drone that could be used for duties such as measuring fertilizer levels at the J.R. Simplot Co. plant in Rock Springs. 

These projects gave him the skills he needed to co-found UplinkRobotics as a student. 

“My research experiences definitely contributed a lot to the success that we’re having at UplinkRobotics and my ability to work on things hands-on,” Wagstaff says.

Uplink, based in Laramie, produces crawler inspection robots. During the initial years of the company, Wagstaff led the design of all of the units. 

In addition to the practical skills he learned in engineering, taking part in the John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition gave the Uplink team business skills and mentorship. 

“The College of Business helped with a ton of stuff and put us in touch with mentors who are still crucial to our success,” Wagstaff says. 

As CEO of Uplink, he appreciates that every day is different and challenging. 

“A lot of engineers graduate and go work in cities where they get stuck in a cubicle for eight hours a day staring at a computer screen,” Wagstaff says. “An interesting day is when they get to go to the lab and test something. For me, every day is different, which keeps me motivated to keep working.”

He also appreciates getting to live and work in Wyoming.

“I really enjoy the outdoors and the ability to go up into the mountains and not run into 500 people on the hiking trail like you will in any other state,” Wagstaff says. “I don’t like traffic and busy places. I grew up on a ranch. I like to hunt. I fish a lot, and it’s really nice to go to a lake and put the boat in and be the only boat out there.”

Wyoming’s size makes connections easy. Legislators, the Laramie Chamber Business Alliance, IMPACT 307 and many others have helped Uplink go from a student startup to a successful business with seven full-time employees today.  

“It’s really handy to be able to get in contact with the people who actually make decisions and can help you,” Wagstaff says. “We’ve grown out of the startup stage, and we plan to keep making and selling crawlers, to keep growing and to stay in Wyoming as long as they’ll have us.”  

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Auditor Teresia Crane
Hometown: Cheyenne
UW degrees: B.S. in accounting and business administration with minors in finance and entrepreneurship, 2017

Teresia Crane’s degrees allow her to serve her home state as supervising auditor at the state’s Department of Audit, which wouldn’t have been possible without the Trustees’ Scholars Award. 

“I was able to complete two degrees in four years without having to work,” she says. “I came from a family with no money, so I would not have been able to go to college without the help of scholarships.” 

With scholarships, she could devote all her time to the intense coursework of two majors and two minors. 

“I think any scholarship offering has a benefit to students that you can’t even imagine,” Crane says. “Not only is the financial benefit substantial but the emotional benefit from that is tremendous.”

During her busy four years at UW, Crane loved the beautiful campus, her incredible professors and all the fun experiences of being an undergraduate in Laramie. She also served as an intern with Cheyenne Frontier Days and was a member of the professional business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi. 

“The mentors and experiences that I had at UW helped me to find the right path and to progress into a career field that I really enjoy,” she says.

Crane began her career as an auditor in the private sector before being hired as a state auditor seven years ago. Since then, she has risen to supervising auditor. 

“In my role, I get to ensure that taxpayer funds are being spent appropriately, and I love the value that provides to the people of Wyoming,” she says. 

Crane is a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner. 

For her, leaving Wyoming was never a viable option, as her family is here. Of course, there are many other benefits to the Cowboy State. 

“It’s nice that there isn’t too much traffic,” she says. And that’s true even in the capital. “Plus, it’s great if you’re into outdoor activities. I enjoy hiking, picnicking and just spending time in the sun.”  

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Accountant Matthew Hines
Hometown: Gillette
UW degrees: B.S. in finance with minors in economics and computer science, 2022; B.S. in accounting, 2025

For Matthew Hines, earning the Trustees’ Scholars Award positively influenced his decision to stay in Wyoming after graduation: “It made me want to show the university and state that I was worth the investment and to take the opportunity to stay in Wyoming and give back to the community.”

Hines serves as a staff accountant for A.B.C. CPA, a local accounting firm in Gillette. 

“I really enjoy getting to interact with clients on a day-to-day basis and helping them out in real and tangible ways,” he says. “Accounting and keeping the books is not something most small business owners are super comfortable with, so it is great to be able to come alongside them and not just lend a hand but hopefully teach them so that they can approach the numbers side of their business with confidence.”

The connections he formed growing up and attending the University of Wyoming made it easy for him to secure a job here. 

“The College of Business does an amazing job of exposing you to every aspect of the business world, and it has helped me adapt in my career,” Hines says. 

Earning the Trustees’ Scholars Award allowed him to take full advantage of everything UW offers. 

“I was able to do a minor outside of my college that I would not have done otherwise,” Hines says. “I really enjoyed going to the football games. It was and still is so cool to see everyone come from around the state to support the Pokes. I’ll never forget the excitement when we beat Missouri in 2019. I also enjoyed participating in intramurals during my time at UW — basketball, ultimate frisbee, flag football, curling and canoe battleship. It was a great way to meet friends freshman year. Boga Fit with mats in the pool at Half Acre sometimes involved more laughing than working out! The Navigators was an awesome student organization to be a part of, and my wife and I loved going swing dancing on Thursday nights in the Wyoming Union.” 

Hines believes that the Trustees’ Scholars Award draws top students to UW and helps keep many of them in the state afterward. He loves living near his family and friends and taking in what his family fondly calls God’s country.

“I have really enjoyed the work-life balance Wyoming offers,” Hines says. “Being in a small town, I can go meet a friend for lunch or run home. There is really no commute. The great outdoors is a quick drive away, and our community in Gillette has great parks and walking trails. I think the people of Wyoming also have their priorities straight, and it makes work a much less stressful atmosphere.”