Greentown freshman named Hoosier Presidential Scholar
August 18, 2005
KOKOMO, Ind.—Sunny Marie Jewell of Greentown will attend Indiana University Kokomo this fall, as one of thirty-three students accepted in the inaugural class of Hoosier Presidential Scholars. These students will receive renewable scholarships at IU campuses ranging from $6,000–$12,000-a-year for four years, plus a new laptop computer. In their junior or senior year, the students will also receive a $1,000 award toward the cost of a semester of international study abroad.
Jewell is a freshman in the IU Kokomo School of Nursing's Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. She hopes to eventually be licensed as a nurse mid-wife. Currently, she is working as an admissions assistant in the IU Kokomo Office of Admissions. A 2005 graduate of Eastern High School, Jewell is the daughter of Marie Jewell of Greentown and Mark Roper of Kokomo.
IU President Adam Herbert, who initiated the Hoosier Presidential Scholars program, will congratulate Jewell on her scholarship and present her computer on August 25, during a campus-wide barbeque at IU Kokomo. The barbeque marks the start of the academic year and the kick-off of the campus' 60th anniversary celebration.
Jewell, along with the other Presidential Scholars, will be honored later this fall in special ceremonies on the IU Bloomington campus.
The Hoosier Presidential scholars program is funded through a $10 million grant from the Lilly Foundation. The highly competitive program aims at placing more of Indiana's top high school students at IU campuses, with the hope that they might be more inclined to stay in Indiana after they graduate.
Limited to Indiana residents, the program “gives each of our campuses a significant new tool to attract more of Indiana's most academically talented high school students,” Herbert said. The average grade point average for the 33 inaugural class members exceeded 4.0 because so many were in advanced placement and honors classes. The average SAT score was 1394, and 86 percent of awardees came from public high schools.
“These students have the potential for high levels of success in their chosen professions. They will be Indiana's future leaders,” Herbert said.
Charlie Nelms, vice president for institutional development and student affairs, said the Lilly Endowment's $10 million investment would enable IU to offer 30 to 40 scholarships each year in perpetuity. The investment provides roughly $500,000 a year in interest to support the program. From this fund, scholarship grants ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 are awarded to each participant. The student's campus must match this award on a 2-for-1 basis, resulting in a total value of $6,000 to $12,000 per student. Each award is campus-specific and non-transferable to another IU campus.
(Information provided by the IU Office of Media Relations)
