Two high school seniors who have committed to attend Southwestern College in the fall of 2025, Wyatt Long, Sapulpa, Okla., and Ben Patkowski, Mustang, Okla., have been awarded Moundbuilder Spirit full-tuition scholarships.  

The Moundbuilder Spirit Scholarship recognizes two student leaders who are well-rounded, hardworking, and community-minded. The Moundbuilder Spirit Scholarship will provide full-tuition support to Long and Patkowski. The scholarships are renewable for four years and are valued at approximately $150,000.

Wyatt Long is the son of Robin Long and Steve Long and attends Sapulpa High School.  He plans to major in business and participate in soccer.

Ben Patkowski is the son of Max and Holly Patkowski and attends Mustang High School.  He plans to major in business administration and participate in football, track and field, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

According to Stephannie DeLong, vice president for enrollment management, the college received a number of applications for the Moundbuilder Spirit Scholarship.

“Southwestern College has been offering full tuition scholarship competitions for nearly ten years,” DeLong says.  “The Moundbuilder Spirit full tuition scholarship embraces the culture of our students who pursue academic, co-curricular, community, and civic engagement.  We received over 120 applications for this year’s Moundbuilder Spirit scholarship competition and hosted 47 students on campus.  Students participated in an interview with two faculty/staff members and wrote an essay addressing how they have overcome personal or systemic obstacles in their lives.  We look forward to welcoming Wyatt and Ben to the Builder family and seeing them continue to grow academically and personally.”

Southwestern's competitive full-tuition scholarship program began in 2016. As the number of students applying for admission to Southwestern has grown, the number applying to compete for the full-tuition competition has also increased. Since the beginning, the full-tuition program has attracted a talented and diverse group of students to apply. Each year a large proportion of the students who compete for the full-tuition awards, but are not selected as the recipients choose to come to Southwestern.