While serving in the United States Army for 21 years, James C. Hurt got the chance to see and experience the world.

Throughout his travels, he always found opportunities to continue learning, often enrolling in courses at local community colleges and universities. According to Hurt, his love for education came directly from his mother, Ollie Mae Hurt.

“My mother stressed education quite a bit,” said Hurt. “Wherever I was stationed, I continued to go to school.”

Hurt and his eight brothers and sisters grew up in Union Springs, Alabama, which is in Bullock County. He notes that Bullock County is a part of the “Black Belt” region, a collection of rural counties and cities mostly located in the western part of Alabama. While attending Bullock High School, Hurt often received encouragement from his mother to pursue college—specifically, she wanted him to earn a bachelor’s degree.

“My mother was an amazing person. She would always say that when your body puts you down, you [still] have your mind,” said Hurt. “She stressed that education was the most important thing you could do with your life…. she stressed it, she stressed it, she stressed it.”

So, when Hurt graduated from high school and joined the Army, he kept his mother’s words top of mind. He started his career with basic training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina; then moved to Fort Riley in Junction City, Kansas; then made his way across the world to Camp Hovey in Seoul, South Korea. His military journey continued with multiple stops across the U.S., including Colorado, California, Alaska, and Michigan. Each new location presented him with new educational opportunities. He enrolled in classes at Kansas State University, Los Angeles Community College (South Korea), UC Santa Barbara, and many others. Then, as his retirement date closed-in, he was given the chance to pick his final assignment.

“After 15 years in the U.S. Army, [they try] to send you to your preferred assignment before retirement,” said Hurt. “I requested to come back to Alabama.”

The Army honored his request and sent him to Birmingham and with his new home came another opportunity to enroll in a local university. This time was different, though. This time, he wanted to complete his bachelor’s degree and prepare for a career after the armed forces. So, he met with an advisor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and identified a course load that would allow him to earn a degree and fulfill his mother’s dreams.

“I found UAB to be an amazing opportunity for the adult student like myself. [It’s] the best institution of higher education I’d ever seen, and I’ve seen quite a few,” said Hurt. “I was in the U.S. Army full-time, and I was a full-time student at UAB… They found a way to keep me in school and on schedule.”

Hurt majored in criminal justice and minored in political science, and, by June 1998, he earned enough credits to graduate with his bachelor’s degree. It was a powerful moment for Hurt and his family.

Soon after graduating, Hurt’s mother encouraged him to move back to Bullock County and become the local sheriff, he says with a smile. He decided to take a different path and, instead, pursued a career in financial advising with Morgan Stanley.

“When I went in for the interview [with Morgan Stanley], they said ‘Hey, we looked at your resume and the fact that you graduated from UAB, that’s why we brought you in,’” said Hurt. “It’s been wonderful for me.”

Sadly, his mother passed away in 2001—just three years after he graduated from UAB. Her inspiring words and love for education remained with Hurt, so he chose to honor her by establishing the Ollie Mae Hurt Intellect-Pay (I-Pay) Endowed Scholarship.

“When she passed, we were trying to figure out a way to honor [her commitment to education] and create a scholarship,” said Hurt. “The whole idea [with the scholarship] is to give those kids in the Black Belt communities another option—just another option.”

The scholarship is for undergraduate freshmen in the College of Arts and Sciences with preference given to students from the Black Belt region. Through the scholarship, Hurt wants students to nurture their intellect and develop global perspectives at UAB—in addition, he hopes they will find opportunities to give back to their hometowns and the Black Belt region.

As he looks to the future, he is optimistic the Ollie Mae Hurt I-Pay Endowed Scholarship will expand its reach and make a generational impact.

“We would like to be able to grow it. This is something that can live forever,” said Hurt.

Learn more and give to the Ollie Mae Hurt I-Pay Endowed Scholarship.