Former ocean engineering student, Colin Ocker ’96 and his wife Dr. Liette Ocker. |
Image: Courtesy of Colin Ocker
Dr. Liette Ocker and Colin Ocker ’96 have established the Endurance Endowed Engineering Scholarship. Distributions from this endowment will be used to provide one or more scholarships to full-time students in good standing pursuing an undergraduate degree in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University.
Liette and Colin began dating at Texas A&M in 1996 while Colin was completing his bachelor’s degree in ocean engineering and Liette was interning at Texas A&M. “When I graduated high school, my brother, class of ’94, and cousins, class of ’90 and ’92, were all at Texas A&M,” Colin said. “After seeing their experiences it was the only school I applied to.”
Colin said the ocean engineering department was instrumental in getting him an internship opportunity that helped kick-start his career and beyond. “The Aggie network has always been there during the twists and turns of my career over the last 25 years,” he said.
Liette arrived at Texas A&M later when she interned there while completing her master’s degree from Wichita State. “I fell in love with the university and the Aggie culture,” she said.
The Ockers said they wanted to encourage and promote students who have had to work through challenges in their lives and haven’t given in to these challenges or allowed them to hold them back.
“There are a lot of kids out there that have challenges in their lives; physical disabilities, learning disabilities, social and environmental challenges,” Colin said. “So many kids will give in and allow these challenges to define their place in life, but some will persevere and work incredibly hard to overcome them.”
The Ockers feel that a lot of scholarships focus on the students’ final outcome, grades or class rank, and they wanted to focus on the journey. “We understand that many times passing a class can be a bigger accomplishment for some than getting an A+ for others,” Liette said.
Colin and Liette said they have both been blessed in their careers and know that a quality education is at the foundation of that. “We hope that it will continue to encourage these kids to persevere and hopefully help in the journey,” they said.
Colin graduated from Texas A&M in 1996 with his degree in ocean engineering and received his professional engineering license in 1999. He later went on to earn his executive MBA from Rice University in 2018. Colin currently serves as the director of PreDevelopment and Planning for Hess Corporation. Liette graduated from Wichita State with her bachelor’s degree in communicative disorders and sciences and her master’s degree in sport and fitness administration/management. She later earned her doctoral degree in educational testing and measurement from the University of Houston and is now the owner and principal consultant at Ocker Consulting, LLC. She and Colin have two sons in high school that have grown up as Aggies and the family resides in the Houston area.
Liette and Colin began dating at Texas A&M in 1996 while Colin was completing his bachelor’s degree in ocean engineering and Liette was interning at Texas A&M. “When I graduated high school, my brother, class of ’94, and cousins, class of ’90 and ’92, were all at Texas A&M,” Colin said. “After seeing their experiences it was the only school I applied to.”
Colin said the ocean engineering department was instrumental in getting him an internship opportunity that helped kick-start his career and beyond. “The Aggie network has always been there during the twists and turns of my career over the last 25 years,” he said.
Liette arrived at Texas A&M later when she interned there while completing her master’s degree from Wichita State. “I fell in love with the university and the Aggie culture,” she said.
The Ockers said they wanted to encourage and promote students who have had to work through challenges in their lives and haven’t given in to these challenges or allowed them to hold them back.
“There are a lot of kids out there that have challenges in their lives; physical disabilities, learning disabilities, social and environmental challenges,” Colin said. “So many kids will give in and allow these challenges to define their place in life, but some will persevere and work incredibly hard to overcome them.”
The Ockers feel that a lot of scholarships focus on the students’ final outcome, grades or class rank, and they wanted to focus on the journey. “We understand that many times passing a class can be a bigger accomplishment for some than getting an A+ for others,” Liette said.
Colin and Liette said they have both been blessed in their careers and know that a quality education is at the foundation of that. “We hope that it will continue to encourage these kids to persevere and hopefully help in the journey,” they said.
Colin graduated from Texas A&M in 1996 with his degree in ocean engineering and received his professional engineering license in 1999. He later went on to earn his executive MBA from Rice University in 2018. Colin currently serves as the director of PreDevelopment and Planning for Hess Corporation. Liette graduated from Wichita State with her bachelor’s degree in communicative disorders and sciences and her master’s degree in sport and fitness administration/management. She later earned her doctoral degree in educational testing and measurement from the University of Houston and is now the owner and principal consultant at Ocker Consulting, LLC. She and Colin have two sons in high school that have grown up as Aggies and the family resides in the Houston area.
How to Give
The College of Engineering is one of the leading engineering programs in the United States, ranking first in undergraduate enrollment and ninth in graduate enrollment. Endowments supporting the students in the college have an immeasurable impact on their education. If you are interested in supporting the College of Engineering and its departments or would like more information on how you can give, please contact Stephanie Lampe, director of development.