Arkansas Tech University student Magali Rivera is a 2019 recipient of a $6,000 scholarship from the Jim Elder Good Sport Fund.
Rivera is a junior from Green Forest with a double major. She is pursuing a degree in journalism under the public relations emphasis as well as a degree in communication.
“Being the recipient of this scholarship is an enormous accomplishment,” said Rivera, who attended North Arkansas College in Harrison before transferring to ATU. “It has given me not only a financial advantage in my education, but also pride in myself and in my ability to achieve anything I set my mind to. Simply being a finalist was a big accomplishment for me. I could not believe that I was a recipient. I know that this accomplishment has made my friends and family incredibly proud. I hope to be able to represent Jim Elder’s name well. I am incredibly grateful to be the recipient of such an honorable scholarship.”
Elder was the play-by-play radio voice of the Arkansas Travelers professional baseball team from 1960-93. He was also sports director for radio station KARN in Little Rock from 1965-98, and he provided the talent on University of Arkansas football radio broadcasts with in-game statistical updates from 1970-97.
An 11-time Arkansas Sportscaster of the Year award recipient, Elder died in 1998 at the age of 73. He was posthumously inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
