WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University will reward student leaders from urban areas in Indiana and Illinois with a new scholarship announced by the university on Friday (Oct. 2, 2009).

The first Emerging Urban Leader Scholars will be selected from the 2010 entering freshman class. No separate application is needed for this scholarship. Prospective students who submit their Purdue application, transcript and test scores by Nov. 15 will be considered. Students will be evaluated on their academic and leadership skills.

The Emerging Urban Leaders Scholarship program is made possible by a $6 million anonymous gift Purdue received in April 2009. The new scholarship, which is part of the university’s Access and Success Campaign, will offer $5,000 to select Indiana students from the Indianapolis Public Schools district and public schools in Hammond, Gary and East Chicago. Students from Chicago Public Schools Corporation also can qualify for a $15,000 scholarship. The scholarships are renewable annually for four years upon achievement of a 2.70 Purdue grade point average.

“Purdue is dedicated to making a college education accessible for students, especially those who succeed in the classroom and are proven community leaders,” said Purdue President France A. Córdova.

The first Emerging Urban Leader Scholars will be selected from the 2010 entering freshman class. No separate application is needed for this scholarship. Prospective students who submit their Purdue application, transcript and test scores by Nov. 15 will be considered. Students will be evaluated on their academic and leadership skills.

Purdue trustee William Oesterle pledged $250,000 to the program.

“This is another way we can ensure Indiana students are able to achieve a college education,” said Oesterle, an Indianapolis resident who also is chief executive officer and a co-founder of Angie’s List. “I really hope other people step up to help us expand this program so we can provide this opportunity to even more deserving students.”

Oesterle, who has been a trustee since 2005, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Purdue in 1987 and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

The Emerging Urban Leaders Scholarship program is part of Access and Success. The scholarship campaign was launched in 2007 and provides funding for a variety of scholarships and student programs. To date, more than $100 million has been raised for the Access and Success campaign.

EVANSTON, Ill. — Today National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC)
announced the names of 2,500 distinguished high school seniors who have won National Merit $2500 Scholarships, four of whom live in Greater Lafayette. The Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of approximately 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The four local winners are:

• Jonathon D. Foster of Lafayette (Harrison High School)
• Philip K. Thomas of West Lafayette (Harrison High School)
• Karen Shen of West Lafayette (West Lafayette High School)
• Xixiang Xu of West Lafayette (West Lafayette High School)

National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. They were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors. These Scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.

NMSC is financing most of these single-payment National Merit $2500 Scholarships. Corporations and company foundations that sponsor awards through NMSC also help underwrite these scholarships with grants they provide in lieu of paying administrative fees.

All Finalists competed for these awards. To select scholarship winners, a committee of educators appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay describing interests and goals; and the recommendation written by a high school official. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors.

This year’s competition for National Merit Scholarships began in October 2007 when more than 1.5 million juniors in over 22,000 high schools took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less
than one percent of the state’s seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state representational basis. Only the 16,000 Semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.

Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2009 program, about 8,200 Finalists will earn the “Merit Scholar” title and receive a total of nearly $36 million in college scholarships.

NMSC, a not-for-profit corporation that operates without government assistance, was founded in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 500 independent corporate and college sponsors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and enhancing their educational opportunities.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Fifteen Lafayette-area string musicians, including four who are home-schooled, are winners of this year’s McPherson String Scholarships to advance their musical training, the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra announced Tuesday (April 28).

The 2009 McPherson Scholarship recipients are Daniel Choi, Agustina de la Fuente, Joseph Frank, Mark Timmerman, Amy He and Bryce Wang of West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High School; Kaleb Emery, Adrian Escobar, LeAnn Hackerd, and Dillon Miller of Frankfort Middle School; Kayla Newcomb of Central Catholic Jr./Sr. High in Lafayette; and Nathan Davis, Christina Doerr, Clara Loisch and Gabriella Loisch, who are home-schooled.

The Lafayette Symphony Orchestra announces the 2009 class of McPherson String Scholarship winners

Winners receive $300 each through the Dr. and Mrs. Richard C. McPherson String Instrument Scholarship Fund. This year, 54 scholarship applications were submitted. The Greater Lafayette Community Foundation distributes the annual scholarships on behalf of the Lafayette Symphony.

Ken Bootsma, executive director of the LSO, said the McPherson scholarships are designed to encourage interest in string instruments such as the violin, viola, bass or cello among the many young musicians in local and regional communities.

“The $300 individual awards, made possible for the 12th straight year through the generosity of the McPherson family, can be extremely helpful, especially during these tough economic times, for private lessons or music camps to foster a love for music for all ages,” Bootsma said.

Musicians who were nominated by local and area music instructors were asked to submit an application along with a 100- to 300-word essay about how the scholarship would help them advance their musical interests. An ad hoc committee of three LSO musicians recommended the 15 recipients to the LSO’s Education Committee for final approval.

“The McPherson scholarship program pays particular attention to those students whose interest in string playing proficiency is limited by financial constraints,” said LSO musical director Nicholas Palmer. “It also is a key part of the LSO’s outreach mission into our local and regional communities and to help these young musicians and their families grow their love of performance.”

The program was created in 1998 by the McPhersons in honor of their children, Gregg A. McPherson and Kimberly McPherson, to encourage and stimulate interest in string-playing proficiency.

Applicants for yearly scholarships must be enrolled in school in grades 7-12, which includes the summer following the 12th grade. They must be permanent residents of Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Howard, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Pulaski, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Warren and White counties.

The deadline for the 2010 McPherson scholarships is mid-February. Application forms can be picked up at the LSO offices on the second floor of the Long Center for Performing Arts, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette, IN, 47901. Prior scholarship applicants are eligible to reapply, and recipients from the last three years are not eligible to reapply.

Launched in 1950 as a nonprofit organization, the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra is focused on enriching the cultural life of the Lafayette-West Lafayette community, which includes Purdue University, and 14 surrounding counties through excellence in orchestral music and educational experience.

About 80 percent of the Lafayette Symphony’s patrons live in Lafayette, West Lafayette and Tippecanoe County, while the remainder resides in the surrounding counties of Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Howard, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Pulaski, Tipton, Warren and White.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The 2009 Miss Purdue Scholarship Pageant will take place at 5 p.m. Sunday (March 1) in Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse.

Eight students will participate in the pageant, which is an official preliminary to the Miss Indiana and Miss America pageants. As part of the evening, State Rep. Sheila Klinker, Miss Purdue 1959, will be honored and plans to perform a duet with Miss Purdue 2008 Kelly Bouwman. Miss Indiana 2008 Megan Meadors also will perform.

Pageant contestants must be full-time Purdue students between the ages of 18-23, and the winner will receive a crown, title and scholarship money and gifts from local businesses.

The areas of competition include a personal interview with a panel of judges, talent, lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit, presence and poise in evening wear, and answering an onstage question. Each contestant has raised at least $100 for the Children’s Miracle Network and also must advocate a platform based on a social issue.

Tickets are $10 for the general public and will be for sale at the door. All proceeds will benefit the Miss Purdue Scholarship Foundation.

The newly crowned Miss Purdue will go on to compete in June’s Miss Indiana Pageant in Zionsville, Ind., where thousands of dollars in scholarship will be available, as well as a trip to the Miss America pageant. She also will make appearances on campus and in the community throughout her year of service.

Entrants include:

• Mina Alsaraf, a senior in the College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences from West Lafayette, Ind.
• Kirsten Fletter, a sophomore in the College of Agriculture from Fort Wayne, Ind.
• Amanda Guieb, a senior in the College of Education from Indianapolis
• Whitney Hatter, a sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts from Whitestown, Ind.
• Jennifer Nestleroad, a junior in the College of Consumer and Family Sciences from Lafayette, Ind.
• Lisa Singleton, a sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts from Greenwood, Ind.
• Jacklyn Talbert, a sophomore in the Krannert School of Management from Russiaville, Ind.
• Diana True, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts from McCordsville, Ind.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Tippecanoe County Sheriff Tracy Brown announced today that the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association will again be awarding college scholarships to qualified high school seniors or college students who are pursuing a degree in criminal justice studies. There will be approximately forty (40) five hundred dollar ($500.00) scholarships awarded to qualifying students throughout the state.

The Indiana Sheriffs’ Association Scholarship fund was established for the purpose of receiving, investing, and dispensing of funds to provide college scholarships to qualified students who are committed pursuing an education and career in the law enforcement field.

To qualify for one of these scholarships, the applicant must be an Indiana resident, be a current member of the association or a dependent child or grandchild of a current member of the association, attend an Indiana college or university, major in a law enforcement field and enroll as a full-time student (12 hours).

Applications for the scholarships are available from the high school counselor, the Sheriff’s Office located at 2640 Duncan Road, Lafayette, Indiana, or at its website at www.tippecanoesheriff.com.

The application must be completed and received by the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association on or before April 1, 2008.