Supporting Student Success - OSH Student Receives Inaugural Scholarship
Published September 22, 2026 by Montana Thommes
An Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) student is being celebrated as a success story when it comes to student support.
Jason Murray (Class of 2027) was hooked on OSH after conversations with alumni and faculty about the different aspects of the field. Murray is the inaugural recipient of the Ron E. Averill '89 Occupational Health and Safety Management Memorial Endowed Scholarship.
Ron E. Averill graduated from GVSU and spent his career in OSH. Averill's family set up the scholarship in 2023 to support OSH students on a path similar to his. Averill was regarded as being highly personable and intentional about getting to know his team members. Murray had the opportunity to meet some of Averill's family members and was inspired by the stories they told.
The OSH program led Murray to a summer internship at Kent Power, where he was able to work both in the office and in the field to help manage workplace safety.
Murray is the subject of a profile in the latest issue of Horizons, GVSU's Institutional Advancement newsletter. In the piece (which you can read at the link) Murray says he is "a lot more confident in knowing that I'm capable of doing whatever I want to do.”