Kaden Bradley sat in his typically boring senior high school math class, when the email notification appeared on his laptop screen with a soft chime. Suddenly, Bradley was on the edge of the seat, his attention no longer on math. Knowing the email would bring either good or bad news, the lecture in the classroom faded from his focus. Nerves racing, he clicked it open and scanned for what he was dying to know. There was no time to read unnecessary words. Finally, he found what he was looking for. Bradley learned attending college would not cost him a dime. 

Bradley stood up from his seat and left the classroom to process the news. 

“The weight of it wasn’t lost on me… that this was my opportunity to get out and make something of myself,” Bradley said. 

Bradley is one of many students within the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources who get to experience college through the impact of scholarships. 

Passionate about advocating for the impact of financial support for college students, Bradley, now a senior natural resources management major from Calallen, Texas, told his story this fall to an at-capacity banquet hall at one of Davis College’s most cherished traditions: Pig Roast. 

A Long-Standing Tradition

The first Pig Roast was an outdoor event held in 1927, just two years after the opening of Davis College in 1925 and four years after the founding of Texas Tech University in 1923. In its early years, the event was a sendoff celebrating the college’s livestock judging team, before competing for the livestock judging championship. 

Over the years, Pig Roast evolved into a college-wide celebration, still honoring Davis College competitive teams, but growing to also celebrate scholarship donors and recipients. Once fit into “Aggie Pavilion” (now called the Agricultural Pavilion) and at one point held in the Student Union Building, the Pig Roast festivities now fill the banquet hall at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. Today, Pig Roast is one of the oldest and largest campus traditions aside from sporting events and fills its venue capacity of 752 people each year. 

Davis College Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, Tracee Murph, the event planner for Pig Roast, said the tradition sets Davis College apart from other colleges. 

“Pig Roast is kind of revered across campus,” Murph said. “Other colleges have their own scholarship programs, and they’re nowhere near what Pig Roast is, and they don’t have the history that Pig Roast has, and they don’t have the donor loyalty that Pig Roast has.” 

As the tradition developed into a scholarship banquet, short programs were printed out of a few pieces of printer paper stapled together. Since then, the programs have evolved into a booklet with more than 40 pages, including more than 350 scholarships and 1,100 student recipients. 

Murph said the program has tripled in size in nearly 20 years since she began working for Davis College. 

“When I first started, we were reading every scholarship in order as it was printed on the pages,” Murph said. “Obviously, we can’t do that anymore [because] there are entirely too many [scholarships].” 

Although Pig Roast continues to grow and evolve with Davis College, Murph still works to stay true to tradition. 

“The event itself has gotten a little bit more sophisticated over time,” Murph said, “but we stay true to the roots, primarily with the [printed] program itself, making sure we are honoring what Pig Roast was and what Pig Roast should be, as well as with [pork on] the menu.” 

Life Changing Impacts

Bradley remembers wanting to go to college growing up. However, one life-changing day when he was 13 years old made him unsure if college was in the cards for him. 

Bradley and his father were building a barbeque pit together out of recycled propane tanks. The five-gallon tank that was to be the barbeque pit’s smokebox, needed “bled out,” a slow process that safely releases any residual gas from the tank. 

“I was just so excited,” Bradley said. “I went and grabbed a wrench, and I broke that valve open while my dad ran up to the gas station because nobody was there to tell me, ‘No.’” 

The gas began to escape faster than the young boy expected. Bradley immediately attempted to shut the valve, but the tank exploded. 

“As soon as I saw that flash, I made a mental note to not breathe, because my mother was a nurse and she always told me that the worst part about burns was the smoke inhalation,” Bradley said. 

Meanwhile, the first responders who would soon report to the scene were fueling their ambulance, able to see and hear the explosion that altered Bradley’s life from the gas station. Calm under pressure, Bradley sprinted to his house where his grandmother called 911 and used a garden hose to put out the flames that consumed his body.  

“It had just rained real bad [on our] caliche roads, and they couldn’t get that heavy ambulance all the way to the house,” Bradley said. “So, they come up to me and they ask if I could walk. I got up and I walked to the ambulance and whenever I got in there, that was whenever my airway finally started to close.” 

With his airways threatening to cave, Bradley later learned he may not have survived had he been put on a stretcher rather than walking the 40 yards to the ambulance. However, Bradley remembers he was never afraid he was going to die that day. 

“Whenever adrenaline hits like that it’s a different story,” Bradley said. “You get into a fight for your life and you either crumble and you don’t move, shock sets instantly, or you ride that adrenaline out until you’re safe, and that’s what happens for me.” 

Bradley was eventually flown to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Galveston, Texas, where he stayed for almost seven months. Suffering from burns on nearly 80% of his body, his treatment caused him to miss the end of eighth grade and his first semester as a high school freshman. 

Between financial strains caused by medical bills and new health constraints, attending college seemed less likely to Bradley. However, contrary to what seemed improbable at the time, Bradley’s scholarship made it possible for him to join the Davis College family. 

Whenever you hit a low spot, [you remember] somebody believed in you.

Kaden Bradley

Paying it Forward

Every year, Rex and Nancy Isom attend Pig Roast to meet the students they passionately invest in because although it’s been many years since they walked the campus sidewalks as students, Davis College remains a meaningful part of their lives. 

“Davis [College] to me represents my roots,” Rex said. “It’s me and it’s us. The college of ag is just who we are.” 

Rex, now executive director of the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, grew up raising corn, milo, cotton and livestock in Idalou, Texas, where his family began farming around 1916. 

“Dad and granddad always had cattle on feed… and then they kept probably… about 100 sows farrowing,” Rex said, “so we were always farrowing pigs, raising them up to be feeders.” 

With two older brothers who had attended Texas Tech, it was almost a given Rex would follow in their footsteps. 

“I thought about playing basketball maybe at another school,” Rex said, “but as far as really entertaining another school, I didn’t—it was just ‘you go to Tech.’” 

However, Rex’s original plan was to study psychology. 

“I had two or three appointments set up with some of the [psychology] professors,” Rex said. “They were really nice people, but it just didn’t fit.” 

Feeling as if his original plan had come apart, Rex wandered to the animal science building where he spoke with multiple faculty members. 

“I had three really good visits, and I felt really at home,” Rex said. “They were just my kind of people and so I didn’t look any further.” 

Rex declared his major as animal business, a major Davis College faculty created for him to pursue both his interests in animal science and business. He quickly became very involved on campus, including involvement in Block and Bridle, the Student Government Association and Phi Delta Theta fraternity. 

“I guess I was in just about everything you could be in,” Rex said. “I loved all of it.” 

Rex and Nancy met when Rex attended Nancy’s sister’s wedding in Wichita Falls, Texas, where Nancy was from. Nancy, a sophomore who had just transferred from Oklahoma State University, was in her first semester at Texas Tech, while Rex was in his last. Nancy said her favorite memory at Texas Tech was seeing Rex on campus for the first time after her brother-in-law told her she would never see Rex again.

“Within the week after we first went out, I went in the library, and I looked over, and there he was, “Nancy said. “The rest is history.” 

Rex said his time at Texas Tech allowed him to build upon values of hard work, honesty and integrity that he learned growing up in agriculture. 

“Out there on the farm being raised that way, those ideals are instilled in you just naturally growing up,” Rex said, “but then… coming to Tech and getting in the world of agriculture here, it just extended it.” 

Today, Rex gets emotional considering how much agriculture means to him. 

“That’s just my world,” Rex said. “I really related to the people here. They were just salt of the earth people.” 

Rex said he and Nancy chose to give back to the college that was so special to them because they both witnessed their parents’ generosity when they were growing up. 

“We both saw our parents help youth,” Rex said. “So, as we matured and had the ability to help, we began to do that, and we continue doing that.” 

Pig Roast allows Rex and Nancy to interact with students impacted by their generosity, an opportunity they said they look forward to every year. 

“You meet new young adults, and they’re very courteous and they’re very appreciative,” Rex said. “You get to find out where they’re from, what they’re planning to do, what their passion is. 

“It’s not to go and get recognized; it’s to go and hear from the young adults sitting there. That’s the neat part about it.” 

The opportunity to meet students makes Pig Roast more than an obligation, but an event they truly enjoy. 

“To me, that’s [meeting students] the driving impetus of that whole banquet,” Rex said. 

Davis College’s way of honoring scholarships through Pig Roast is something Nancy believes is truly special. 

“We always have said when we leave, ‘If every group or college on campus would honor their scholarship recipients the way the ag college does, it would just be altogether different,” Nancy said. 

Pig Roast also honors people from the industry through the Outstanding Agriculturalist awards. Rex was the 2024 recipient of the Public Service Outstanding Agriculturalist award, just one year after being named a Davis College distinguished alum in 2023. 

In addition to Rex’s career with TSSWCB, Rex and Nancy still live and farm on the land Rex’s family moved to in 1916. The Isoms are partners in Isom Holdings, and also serve in multiple organizations that benefit their community, agriculture, and Texas Tech. Even today, Rex still views his time at Texas Tech as monumental. 

“I give it credit for leading us to where we are today,” Rex said. “It was just an extension of my roots that I grew up with as I came to Tech and connected with the same world of agriculture.” 

A Culture of Giving

Davis College students were awarded $9.3 million in Texas Tech institutional scholarships in fiscal year 2025, including numerous scholarships funded by the college’s generous donors. Donors include companies, organizations, families, alumni and friends of the college. Additionally, scholarships were awarded to 64% of undergraduate students and 50% of all Davis College students. 

Shelbey Havens, assistant director of development for Davis College, said every gift to Davis College matters. 

“You’re going to impact a student,” Havens said. “You’re going to impact a student by giving $500 and you’re going to impact a student by giving $500,000… You’re making a difference for the students that are here and students to come. 

Bradley said scholarships mean more to him than financial security. 

“It’s the fact that somebody believes in me enough that they’re willing to help pay for my schooling,” Bradley said. “[It’s] one of the biggest things that has kept me pushing, especially through the highs and lows of college. Whenever you hit a low spot, [you remember] somebody believed in you.” 

Scholarships funded by donors are either current-use or endowed scholarships. Donors of current-use scholarships determine the amount they want to give and the criteria for selecting the recipients. Based on these decisions, Davis College allocates current-use funds directly to students. These scholarships provide donors with flexibility in the scholarship’s duration and amount, as there is no minimum donation requirement for this type of scholarship. 

Endowed scholarships create permanent funds to support Davis College through generated interest. Endowments can be dedicated to scholarships, fellowships, programs, professorships and more, and allow the opportunity for anyone to contribute to the fund once it is established. 

Bradley said this type of outside support is important for students. 

“These kids need somebody a lot of the times outside of their family that can show that they believe in them, and that’s one of the most impactful things,” Bradley said. “I didn’t believe in myself in the beginning, but somebody else did.” 

The Davis College Way

Looking back, Bradley is grateful to have been able to share his story at Pig Roast. 

“I really enjoyed the opportunity because it was a way for me to get in front of… the biggest donors that the Davis College has,” Bradley said. “One of the things that I liked, being a part of Davis College, was that I could sit there and promote what scholarship can do.” 

Although Davis College has expanded and progressed since that very first Pig Roast in 1927, the college’s culture of inspiring generosity through impacting the lives of students remains the same—a tradition the Isoms epitomize. 

 “Hopefully, by giving back, those students that receive the gifts now, in their later life will help students and help young adults,” Rex said. “It doesn’t always have to be monetarily.”  

It is the generosity of the Isoms and many other donors that continues to provide opportunities for students like Bradley, whose name may once again be printed in the Pig Roast program, not as a scholarship recipient, but as part of the next generation of generous donors. 

Layne Burnett, Lead Writer; Livie Sassenberg, Photo Director; Payton Schuette, Design Coordinator; Taylor Delong, Digital and Advertising Manager

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