Mike Conley was a man of wit, some satiric, often dry, planned and off-the-cuff.  He enjoyed a mental challenge and I still have a button someone gave him that says "I like mental games."  His long time interests were history and astronomy.  Many weekends were spent wondering the less traveled areas of Colorado searching out old sites and information.  He also had an interest in genealogy, and his own Scottish and Irish heritage.  In his lifetime he saw hemophilia treatment go from direct whole blood from a type matched parent with a hospital stay, through cryoprecipitate, to the highly concentrated freeze-dried factor VIII that could be used for home infusion.  He was my champion and my challenger, the thorn in my side and the tenant of my heart, an impetuous child and a wise old advisor.  Unfortunately after surviving several years of multiple infections after surgery, a broken hip and the eventual loss of his left leg, all of which never kept him down, he was felled by AIDS.

I decided to set up this limited scholarship to honor him and the eighteen years it took him to finally receive his Bachelor’s degree.  Mike’s educational ‘career’ was one with many interruptions due to health and financial situations, but he persisted over the years.  Sometimes only managing a course every couple of years, sometimes a couple of courses each term for a few terms.  That diploma may have been old enough to register to vote, but he earned it and he finally got it.  Mike saw learning not just as a means to an end but a journey or end in and of itself.

This scholarship will consist of eighteen individual scholarships for 1,000.00 each, up to two per year, until the eighteen have been awarded.  It is open to Colorado residents with bleeding disorders.  It is not limited to the traditional young full-time student.  Part-time students, returning students whose education goals were interrupted, and other non-traditional type students are encouraged to apply.  Some priority will be given to students attending Metropolitan State College of Denver (where he completed his bachelor’s), and The University of Colorado at Denver (where he began graduate studies), but it is not required.  A minimum 2.0 over all GPA is required.