After a week of Panther Camp traditions, connections and preparation, PVAMU’s newest students officially join the Panther family during the University’s 150th anniversary year.
Prairie View, Texas | August 20, 2026
For the Class of 2030, the journey to becoming a Prairie View A&M University Panther kicked off Sunday, Aug. 16, as they moved onto The Hill and began a week of connection, preparation, tradition and Panther pride ahead of the first day of classes.
Throughout Panther Camp, these first-year students were introduced to campus resources, academic expectations, leadership opportunities and the traditions that have shaped Prairie View A&M for 150 years. The week culminates on Friday, Aug. 21, with the New Student Lighting and Pinning Ceremony, an official rite of passage welcoming the Class of 2030 into the Panther family.
Among the students beginning that journey are three Gaines-Holland Scholars: Mikayla Turner, a biology major from Dallas; Parker Lollar, a mathematics major from the Houston/Cypress area; and Ethan Ofori, a computer engineering major from Mesquite, Nevada.
The timing carries special significance during Prairie View A&M’s sesquicentennial year. For Turner, Lollar and Ofori, receiving the Gaines-Holland scholarship (named after two of PVAMU’s founders) as they enter Prairie View during its 150th year connects their own journeys to the generations of Panthers who came before them.
Standing on the shoulders of the past
Mikayla Turner
When Turner received the prestigious scholarship shortly before arriving on campus, she knew choosing PVAMU was the right choice.
“It meant that Prairie View has a vision for my future and believes that it would be worthwhile to invest in it,” she said.
Turner plans to build her own legacy by joining the student government and advocating for her class. She also plans to use her involvement in the Honors College to promote excellence and explore research opportunities.
A PVAMU legacy whose mother and uncle are alumni, Turner plans to use her biology degree as a pathway to graduate school and a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree before eventually opening her own practice.
The Gaines-Holland Scholarship will help support those ambitions, providing opportunities for research, study abroad and connections with faculty members.
For Lollar, receiving the scholarship meant feeling valued.
“To me, it feels like a reward for pushing myself to be the best I can be,” she said.
Ethan Ofori
The scholarship has also connected Lollar with other students who share her intellectual interests and will provide opportunities she never expected, including study abroad and internships. She plans to become a mathematics professor.
For Ofori, the scholarship represents an affirmation of his potential.
“Receiving the Gaines-Holland Scholarship meant very much to me as the University saw me as someone with the potential to achieve incredible things, and gave me many amazing opportunities that I would never be able to experience without the scholarship.”
Ofori is the fourth member of his immediate family to attend Prairie View A&M, following both of his parents and his older sister to The Hill. He plans to earn his bachelor’s degree, attend graduate school and pursue a career in robotics, using his skills to expand access to technology and resources.
“I hope to leave a legacy as someone who was able to uplift those around me and create more opportunities for future Panthers to strive towards greatness,” Ofori said.
To the Class of 2030
As the Class of 2030 prepares to begin its first semester, the three scholars offered words of encouragement to their fellow incoming Panthers.
Turner encouraged her classmates to embrace the uncertainty that comes with beginning college.
Parker Lollar
“I believe that the most valuable trait to have to be successful is to be comfortable with discomfort,” she said. “Entering our first college classes, being newly independent, and juggling multiple responsibilities may sound daunting, but I know that we can make the most of our first year at PV by staying open-minded and determined.”
Lollar echoed the sentiment.
“We are all in this together. We will grow together, change together and be excellent together.”
For Lollar, who graduated a semester early from Langham Creek High School in the Cypress I.S.D., the road to Prairie View was shaped by teachers who attended PVAMU and inspired her to consider the University.
Ofori put it simply:
“This is only the beginning of the mark we will leave on this world as we grow to become leaders and role models in many different aspects of life.”
The next 150 years
The Class of 2030 enters Prairie View A&M during one of the most significant moments in the University’s history. Panther Camp has introduced students to the traditions, relationships and resources that will help shape their college experience, while the Lighting and Pinning Ceremony marks their formal welcome into the Panther family.
For Turner, being part of the University’s 150th anniversary is a reminder of the perseverance behind PVAMU’s history.
“As I had the chance to learn more about PV’s background through my mentors during Panther Camp, the gravity of this school’s history set in even more. Prairie View has lasted 150 years, built on Black people with aspirations of becoming something greater than the world believed possible for us. For this milestone to be achieved in the midst of all prejudice, trials, and tribulations that accompanied its development is most definitely something I believe deserves to be celebrated.”
This scholarship symbolizes a torch of excellence that each new generation of students inherits, and I feel a profound sense of responsibility to keep the flame burning.”
Mikayla Turner
That history now becomes part of the Class of 2030’s story.
Turner, inspired by the pioneering founders before her, plans to honor their legacy by leaving her own mark.
“This scholarship symbolizes a torch of excellence that each new generation of students inherits, and I feel a profound sense of responsibility to keep the flame burning,” she said.
Lollar sees that responsibility as a continuation of the perseverance that has defined PVAMU for 150 years.
“I hope that I have inspired people when I leave Prairie View,” she added. “I want to leave a legacy as an inspiration to those who come after me to continue learning and critically thinking throughout their time here and well after.”
She also sees the Holland-Gaines legacy as a call to action for the generation now taking its place on The Hill.
“As a Panther, the legacy of Holland and Gaines means that we have to create the change we want to see in the world,” Lollar said. “Gaines and Holland wanted to see African Americans achieve higher education in Texas, so they made it happen.”
For Turner, Lollar and Ofori, that work is just beginning. As the Class of 2030 receives its pins and officially joins the Panther family, these three Gaines-Holland Scholars are among the newest students carrying the University’s legacy forward and beginning to shape the next 150 years.
Visit the pvamu.edu/150 to explore upcoming Sesquicentennial events.
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