Distinguished Alumni
Distinguished Alumni
We are currently accepting nominations for the 2022 and 2023 Amarillo College Distinguished Alumni award recipients. The nomination period will end June 1, 2023.
A Distinguished Alumni is someone who has an extensive Amarillo College career, including academic activities, extracurricular activities, leadership activities, honors and continued support to the college. A Distinguished Alumni is the exemplary model of professional distinction through degrees, training, professional service, advancement and contribution. Finally, A Distinguished Alumni is dedicated to community service for both Amarillo College and the Amarillo area.
AC Names Dual Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients - 2019
2019 - Sharon Oeschger
Oeschger attended AC part time from 1964-1968, while also working at her family's Amarillo-based trucking firm. Today she is president of Specialty Trailer Leasing, Inc., and CEO of Cryogenics Research and Development, Inc.
She was elected in 1990 to the first of three consecutive six-year terms on the Board of Regents, and she served on the AC Foundation Board from 1993-2015, chairing the Board from 2011-2013.
Oeschger, a graduate of Tascosa High School, presently serves on the Harrington Cancer Foundation and the Womens Philanthropy Fund board, and she was past president of the Amarillo Museum of Art and the Amarillo Symphony Guild. She has also held leadership posts with Texas Tech University School of Health Sciences, Amarillo Area Foundation Womens Philanthropy Fund, Amarillo Little Theater, and more.
2019 - Navy Capt. Matthew Davenport
Navy Capt. Matthew Davenport, who passed away in 2018, graduated from Amarillo High School in 1977 and attended AC from 1977-1979. He was named Mr. Amarillo College in his sophomore year.
He went on to graduate twice from the University of Texas, earning a bachelors degree in geological sciences and a masters' in finance.
Davenport joined the Navy in 1988 and served as a Naval Intelligence Officer in each war subsequent to his induction. For his service, he received countless awards. The capstone was the Legion of Merit, a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements.
2018 - James A. Farren
A 1966 graduate of Amarillos Tascosa High School, James Farren was a non-traditional student when he enrolled at AC; he was by then a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War and an officer with the Canyon Police Department.
He ultimately transferred his AC credits to Texas Tech University, where he graduated Cum Laude in 1982, then obtained his Tech law degree in 1984. After several successful years as an assistant U.S. attorney and an assistant 47th District attorney, he won the 1994 election to become criminal district attorney for Randall County.
2017 - JD Souther
JD Souther was born in Detroit but spent his formative years in Amarillo. A graduate of Tascosa High School, he attended AC in 1965 and 1966. The Grammy-nominated Souther, who wrote or co-wrote some of the Eagles biggest hits, including Heartache Tonight, and New Kid in Town,.
Much more than a writer of influential songs that shaped the Southern California rock sound of the early 1970s he was inducted in 2013 into the Songwriters Hall of Fame Souther is also an accomplished musical performer and an actor.
