Purdue Global faculty member endows cybersecurity scholarship in honor of his mother

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Chris Esquire has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in information technology, thanks in large part to his mother, Sharvaquis Joyce Esquire. To honor her, Chris, a faculty member in the Purdue Global School of Business and Information Technology, has endowed a scholarship.

The S.J. Esquire Memorial Scholarship will benefit an academically strong student in the Purdue Global cybersecurity degree program. It is the first endowed scholarship by a Purdue Global faculty member and is being announced in conjunction with Purdue Day of Giving, which is set for Wednesday (April 27).

Chris Esquire (Purdue Global photo) Download image

In 1992, after working for AT&T and as a K-12 substitute teacher, Sharvaquis started teaching typing to students in the dining room of her Atlanta home. The class eventually outgrew the house and expanded with the help of state grants. Chris, in high school at the time, was working at Wendy’s before joining his mother’s growing business for what would become a lifelong passion.

“I worked as her lead technician and trainer, and taught students how to network and build computers,” Chris said. “That knowledge landed me a job while at the University of Alabama my freshman year. I was on work study for around a month or so before I was hired by the school’s business department to work in the computer lab. From there, the rest is history.”

And what a history it has been. Esquire’s career has included working in the public and private sector, for the federal government and a presidential campaign, along with retail and as a consultant. He has conducted award-winning cybersecurity research, is a U.S. Army veteran and holds a law degree.

“I have been in IT for 26 years, thanks to my momma,” Esquire said. “I started in the days of a 486DX processor and when people were excited to have one-gig hard drives. I have done everything academically and professionally that is in the field of IT. I am a student of learning and doing.”

Since joining the Purdue Global faculty in March 2021, Esquire is passing along what he knows to his students.

Chris Esquire and his mother, Sharvaquis Joyce Esquire (Photo provided) Download image

“It is so rewarding,” he said. “I get to help shape and mold minds in this field. It means I get to challenge them to be thinkers and doers. I get to be an impactful part of their lives.”

Esquire, who lives in Pinson, Alabama, with his 2-year-old son, is appreciative of Purdue Global for affording him the opportunity to teach.

“(Associate Dean) Tina Burton and (department chair) Jay Blatt recognized my passion and potential, and Purdue Global is giving me what I wanted for years, to help future minds,” Esquire said. “So I felt I could give the students, and the school, something back as a gift to help others have the chance to be successful in life. Being the first to endow a scholarship as a faculty member just means that I have set the tone for others to do the same. I am honored to know I am the first, but I am even more proud that my momma’s name is on the first.”

In just over a year with Purdue Global, Esquire has made quite an impact.

“We are so honored to have Chris as part of our team,” Burton said. “Not only does he bring his highly diverse skill set to our students inside the classroom, but he also takes every opportunity to support and promote Purdue Global and our programs externally. His generosity in setting up a scholarship for cyber students is just one example of his exemplary character and dedication to student success.”

Esquire aspires to have his students learn about more than the material he teaches from his professional experiences.

“I hope the one thing that resonates the most with people about me is the values I was given when I was a kid, which is to serve,” said Esquire, who when not teaching is tilling his garden in a 400-square-foot greenhouse and perfecting a line of hot sauces for cooking. “We are all put here to do something. I was taught to be greater than myself. Not everyone can do that on a large scale; not everyone is meant to do so. But everyone can impact someone’s life, be it their kids, friends or a random person. We should all strive to be greater than ourselves in life.”

Those interested in supporting Purdue Global, like Esquire, can do so here.

About Purdue Global

Purdue Global delivers personalized online education tailored to the unique needs of adults who have work or life experience beyond the classroom, enabling them to develop essential academic and professional skills with the support and flexibility they need to achieve their career goals. It offers personalized paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits and other considerations – no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It is affiliated with Purdue University’s flagship institution, a highly ranked public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University also operates regional campuses in Fort Wayne and Northwest Indiana, as well as serving science, engineering and technology students at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus. For more information, visit https://stories.purdue.edu/purdue-global/.

Writer/Media Contact: Tom Schott, tschott@purdue.edu

Sources: Chris Esquire

Tina Burton