Conner & Winters Awards 2026 Fern Holland Award to Edgar Canales
Fayetteville, Ark. (March 3, 2026) - Conner & Winters is proud to announce the 2026 Fern Holland Award scholarship winner is University of Arkansas law student Edgar Canales.
Every year, the University of Arkansas School of Law selects an outstanding law student to receive the Conner & Winters Fern Holland Award, a fully-endowed scholarship that provides $1,500 towards expenses related to legal studies.
This year's scholarship winner is Edgar Canales – a first-generation 2L law student from Rogers, Arkansas who serves as the Vice President of the Hispanic Law Student Association at the University of Arkansas School of Law and works on the creative and media team for the Razorback Marching Band. Edgar was honored at the law school's 16th Annual Scholarship Luncheon on February 27th, 2026, pictured below with Fayetteville attorney Brian Thomas.
The Fern Holland Award goes to a deserving law student who demonstrates an interest in public service and has overcome significant challenges in the pursuit of their legal education. The scholarship was first awarded in 2022, and since then, it has provided $6,000 of support to four law students. As of this year, the endowment is perpetually endowed, funded solely on interest from the fund.
The scholarship was created to honor a former Conner & Winters attorney named Fern Holland. Fern grew up in the small town of Bluejacket, Oklahoma. After completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Oklahoma, she attended law school at the University of Tulsa. Soon after graduating law school, she joined Conner & Winters. After working for Conner & Winters for a few years, Fern was called to serve a bigger purpose, so she joined the Peace Corps working on women's rights in Africa. Her passionate work garnered attention from other human rights organizations, and Fern was eventually hired by the Coalition Provisional Authority to help promote women's rights in Iraq. She was instrumental in drafting the women’s rights section to the proposed Iraqi constitution during the US-lead occupation, and also opened 4 women’s rights centers in under a year. While working to promote democracy and human rights in Iraq, Fern and two of her colleagues were assassinated in 2004 when their car was ambushed by terrorists.
You read more about Fern Holland's life here. Fern Holland has received several posthumous honors, including receiving The Medal for the Defense of Freedom Award from the U.S. Department of Defense, the Heroic Oklahoman Award from Governor Brad Henry, and being recognized as Oklahoman of the Year in 2004. Several scholarships and fellowships are named in her honor, including awards granted by the OU Student Affairs and Delta Gamma Fraternity, the Oklahoma Bar Association, the University of Tulsa College of Law, Vital Voices Global Partnership, the office of U.S. Representative Seth Moulton, and many others.
