TAMU Pioneers
In the Summer of 1963, then University President James Rudder admitted the first African American student to Texas A&M. His name is Leroy Sterling and his admittance opened the door and made it possible today for African American students and alumni to be welcomed, respected and invited into every college, department, program that the University has to offer.
In the Fall of 2013 in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the first African American being admitted to the University, then President R. Bowen Loftin inaugurated the Texas A&M University Pioneer Award. This Award is designated for any African American who was admitted to the University from 1963 - 1970. 16 Pioneers were awarded this medal at this inaugural ceremony.
In the Fall of 2017, current President Michael K. Young presented another 7 Pioneer Awards at the second TAMU Pioneer Awards ceremony.
On behalf of all African American Students who attended and graduated from TAMU (and for those yet to come) we say THANK YOU for your bravery, perseverance and sacrifice to make the doors of A&M more open, our presence more welcome and our gifts and abilities more valued among the professors, staff and students at this great University.
Leroy Sterling was one of the first Black students to enroll at Texas A&M University. A native of Booneville, Texas, Sterling applied to Texas A&M University in the early 1960s but was denied admission. But in 1963 he and two other Black students were allowed to enroll in summer sessions. There, he earned credits that went toward his bachelor’s degree at historically Black Texas Southern University. Sterling later described his experience at Texas A&M as positive overall, noting his fellow students were “really nice” and befriended him. He died on August 8, 2023 in Bryan, Texas at 84 years old.
The Black Former Student Network and the Aggie Impact Gala Steering Committee were honored to host Mr. Sterling at our 2019 Inaugural Aggie Impact Gala. In honor of Mr. Leroy Sterling, we have renamed our annual VIP reception the “Leroy Sterling ’67 Pioneer VIP Reception.”
Morris Carter, Jr. owns Carter Consulting, LLC a privately held company offering consulting services in the areas of industrial business development, strategic environmental management, due diligence reviews, compliance solutions, litigation technical support, expert witness testimony, public outreach and personnel training. Morris holds a Texas Professional Engineer’s license and is a Registered Environmental Manager and a Certified Environmental Auditor.
A native of Bryan Texas, he received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1972 where he was regularly on the Dean’s List and was a member of the Pi Tau Sigma honorary engineering fraternity. After graduation, Carter began his career in the at what was the original Gulf Oil Company refinery in the Engineering and Design Department. Over his career he held various positions in equipment design, field construction, process engineering, project management, refinery optimization, planning and economics, employee safety, Process Safety Management and plant security. After over 37 years of service in the oil refining industry, Morris retired from Valero Energy in 2010 where he held the position of Director, Environmental & Public Affairs.
Throughout his career, Morris has been active in his community serving on the Port Arthur Park Central Municipal Utilities District of Port Arthur Board from 1994 to 2001 and was its President for four years. He was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the Jefferson and Orange County Pilots Commission, served as Chairman of the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce Board, Chairman of the Southeast Texas Environmental Managers Association, served on the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission Air Quality Advisory Committee, Texas Air Research Center Advisory Board, Port Arthur Industry and Community Advisory Group, and Port Arthur YMCA Board. He was named 2009 “Man of the Year” by the Martin Luther King Jr. Support Group of Southeast Texas. In 2010, he was honored by having a street in the Port Arthur Business Park named Morris Carter Drive in recognition of his service as president of the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation Board.
Carter has been married for 51 years to Theresa Carter of Hearne, Texas and they have two daughters, Chrystal ’05 and Shauntel ‘98. Morris and Theresa now reside in Spring, Texas.
Captain Ernest Ray Hunter, Sr. is a highly decorated and distinguished retired Naval Officer and Facilities Management Professional. He is a proud member of the Texas A&M Class of 1972. Born and raised in Bryan, Texas, he graduated from E.A. Kemp High School in 1968, a pivotal time a few years before desegregation and the school's closure. A high school honor student and president of his class, he was actively involved in both the concert and marching bands, along with various clubs.
Growing up less than twenty miles from the Texas A&M University campus, he never imagined being able to attend the then mostly racially segregated institution. Encouraged by an extremely dedicated and persistent high school guidance counselor, Captain Hunter applied to Texas A&M University—a decision that would change his life. Leaving his job as a mail clerk trainee at the U.S. Department of Agriculture building on the A&M campus, he was accepted to Texas A&M in 1968. With a strong academic background in science and mathematics, he chose electrical engineering as his field of study, graduating in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
To finance his education, he used student loans and worked at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas as a co-op student, as well as served as an engineering aide at Union 76 Oil Company in California for two summers. Prior to graduation, he was drafted into military service. However, thanks to the service college deferment program and the U.S. Navy delayed entry program, he completed his degree and worked as a permanent employee at Union 76 for six months before enlisting in the Navy. With a guaranteed commitment of reemployment by Union 76 upon completion of military service obligation Captain Hunter started his military service with the intention of completing his four-year obligation and returning to work for the oil company.
While in boot camp, Captain Hunter discovered the Naval Mobile Construction Force (Navy SEABEEs) which is led by a small cadre of Navy Civil Engineer Corps officers and was inspired to apply to the Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. He was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps in 1973 after briefly serving as an enlisted Electrician Mate Third Class with Naval Coastal River Squadron-Two in Little Creek, Virginia supporting PT boats and other costal combat crafts.
Captain Hunter's first assignment as a commissioned officer was as a Shops Engineer at the Naval Weapon Support Center in Crane, Indiana, where he led the civilian workforce supporting complex facilities for weapon production. After two years and a promotion to LTJG (O-2), he became the Public Works Officer at the Naval Security Activity Base, Skaggs Island, California, heading up the facilities department for the entire base.
Recognized for his leadership potential, the Navy selected him to return to Texas A&M for his master’s degree in electrical engineering. Upon graduation, he served as Bravo Company Commander in Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 (NMCB-133), overseeing overseas construction projects and facilities maintenance.
Throughout the remainer of his 26-year career, Captain Hunter held many significant positions, including serving as the World-wide SEABEEs Assignment Officer at the Naval Military Personnel Command in Washington, DC, and as Special Project Officer for a world-wide facilities management automation project at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. He also served as the Executive Officer (second in command) of the Naval Construction Training Center in Gulfport, Mississippi, and was a student at the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. Additionally, he held the role of Public Works Officer (Chief Facilities Officer) at Naval Ordnance Station in Indian Head, Maryland, and was the Deputy Public Works Officer (Deputy Chief Facilities Officer) at Naval Submarine Base in Kings Bay, Georgia.
After his Kings Bay assignment, he attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, DC, earning a master’s degree in National Resources Strategy with a focus on Telecommunication & Information Systems. Rising to the rank of Captain (O-6), he served under a rare special assignment as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy for the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shales Reserves at the Department of Energy (DOE). Notably, in 1995, he co-founded the HBCU Internship Program offering STEM related internship opportunities for historically excluded college students. The program has since evolved into the DOE Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship program, celebrating over 34 years and more than 1,000 graduates.
Captain Hunter concluded his naval career as Commanding Officer of Engineering Field Activity West in San Bruno, California, where he managed a $200 million annual construction program and led a team of 550 personnel supporting five major military bases and many Reserve centers.
After retiring from the Navy in 1999, he was appointed Assistant Director for Facilities Services at the University of Texas at Austin. He quickly advanced to Director of Physical Plant, overseeing a budget of over $50 million annually and managing a workforce of 1,000 across two campuses.
After retiring from UT Austin in 2007, Captain Hunter founded Hunter Consulting and Training, helping higher education facilities management organizations in enhancing their operations. Now fully retired as of 2023, he enjoys life with his wife, Brenda, of 51 years. Their family proudly continues the Aggie legacy, with their son Ernest Hunter II, daughter Britney Hunter, and daughter-in-law Shannon Hunter who are also Texas A&M graduates.
Betty Hanks received her Bachelor of Science degree from Prairie View A&M University in 1965, a Master of Education degree from Texas A&M University in 1969, and completed further graduate studies at Texas A&M University. Betty and her late husband, Melvin, are the proud parents of three beautiful daughters: RoShunda Hanks and twins Tanisha Hanks and Tashara Hanks.
Mrs. Hanks taught school in the Bryan Independent School District for 30 years. She is the owner and director of Big Top Learning Center. Betty was named Administrator of the Year by the Brazos Valley Association for the Education of Young Children in 2001. She is listed in the Who's Who National Register as an Honored Professional for Executives and Businesses in the 2002 edition. She served as a validator for the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Betty Hanks developed and published two Early Childhood Infant and Toddler Curriculums, a book on successfully managing a business, and a parenting guide for disciplining children with love.
Betty has served on many boards and committees, including City Mission, Prenatal Clinic, The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley, the Child Care Management Board, Blinn College Child Development Advisory Board, and the Brazos Valley Workforce Board.
Betty is a registered master trainer for the Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System. She has presented in training sessions, workshops, and seminars locally, statewide, and nationally.
Mrs. Hanks is the past president of the Brazos Valley Association for the Education of Young Children and the past president of the Rho Phi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She serves as a GED advisor. She is also a mentor to college students. Betty sets up two scholarships each year for high school graduates. She also provides scholarships and retirement plans to support the staff at her center both emotionally and financially.
Betty Hanks is a member of New Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, where she has served on multiple boards and committees. She currently serves as the Bible teacher for the Women’s Ministry.
Mrs. Hanks was inducted into the Hall of Honor of the Bryan ISD Education Foundation in 2016. She was awarded the Workforce Solutions recognition for making an impact in the Brazos Valley in 2024. Betty Hanks is also an Aggie Impact Pioneer of Texas A&M University.
For her dedicated years of service to families in the community, the mayor of Bryan proclaimed March 6 as "Big Top Learning Center Day" in recognition of the center's accomplishments. July 21 has been proclaimed as "Big Top Learning Center Service to the Community Day."
Betty takes extraordinary pride in her service to the community and her profession.
Marilyn Ross Samuel is a product of Bryan Public Schools in Bryan, Texas. Upon graduation from Kemp High School in 1968, Marilyn attended Paul Quinn College in Waco, Texas, from 1968 to 1970. Seeking a greater challenge in her educational goals, Marilyn transferred to Texas A&M University from 1970 to 1973, earning a BS degree in Education with an emphasis in Biology. After becoming an educator, she taught school in the Bryan Independent School District for five years. Because of the transfer of her husband’s job to Houston, Marilyn relocated along with him. She worked in the capacities of a language, learning, disability, teacher, regular classroom teacher, gifted and talented teacher, and the writing curriculum for those students in the North Forest ISD, Crosby ISD, and Galena ParkISD. She ended her classroom experience and became a pull out teacher for those students requiring more hands-on learning.
Marilyn completed 37 years in educating students.
After retirement, Marilyn has authored a book.
Presently, she works part time, pulling small groups of students from teachers classrooms assisting in tutoring those students lacking skills and concepts.
Marilyn is married to air personality, Don Samuel of KCOH Radio The Source, in Houston. They have three adult living children, and two who are deceased.