Presidential Scholarships Awarded to Ivy Tech Students

Three young women will be attending Ivy Tech Community College this fall – and all have at least one thing in common. These students are the first incoming freshmen to receive Ivy Tech’s prestigious Presidential Scholarship – a scholarship covering all tuition and fees at the college.

The Presidential Scholarship is awarded to outstanding high school seniors applying to Ivy Tech who are planning to pursue a four-year degree at one of Indiana’s public universities and who are majoring in nursing, engineering, business administration, elementary education, human services, criminal justice, informatics, or computer science.

“We are pleased to be able to offer this scholarship to these outstanding students,” said Ivy Tech Chancellor Jonathan Weinzapfel. “And we are excited to have such high achieving individuals be a part of our student body.”

Recipients include:

Kayla Reeves, Tell City Junior/Senior High School

Kayla says “if your dreams don’t scare you – they are not big enough. That’s why I am choosing Ivy Tech to help fulfil them.” Kayla has selected business administration as her major because one day – she wants to be her own boss. She would like to own her own realty company – a dream born of working with her mother in flipping houses for resale. “I believe Ivy Tech is the type of college that will be conducive to my future and since I am paying for college on my own, the affordable cost offered will help me get where I need to be.”

Emily Nellis, Evansville Central High School

Nursing is the career of choice for Emily. Her aunt has a nursing degree from Ivy Tech and she said that initially gave her the idea – but it is much more than that. “I have the feeling of home when I walk in the doors of a hospital – it just happens, every time,” she said. Ever since I was nine-years-old I have just known I belong there.” She said she wants to be “that last ounce of help to bring a person back to life, physically and emotionally.”

Amy Hart, Gibson Southern High School

Amy says she wants to be a teacher to show students they have the potential to be whatever they want. Amy will study education at Ivy Tech. Always interested in highly academic classes like math and science in school – Amy wants to one day be an elementary teacher and model the behavior of many of her teachers. “My teachers have not only taught me about math, science, and language, but also a deep sense of self-worth, respect, love and opening up to others. I want to do the same for my students.”

A fourth scholarship – the Barbara Hilton Presidential Nursing Scholarship – will be awarded to a current nursing student at Ivy Tech this fall, which was established in her memory by Frank L. Hilton, MD.