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• 18 students selected as Wells Scholars at Indiana University

18 students selected as Wells Scholars at Indiana University

• Aug. 17, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Editors: Biographies for each of the 2015 Wells Scholars are available online. A link to a print-quality photo of each recipient is available with each biography.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University has announced that 17 entering freshmen and a current IU student will join the more than 540 others who have been named Herman B Wells Scholars since the first class enrolled in 1990. 

The Wells Scholars Program, under the leadership of director Christoph Irmscher, Provost Professor of English at IU and the George F. Getz Jr. Professor in the Wells Scholars Program, will celebrate its 25th anniversary early in the fall semester with a three-day alumni reunion.

“I extend my welcome and congratulations to the incoming Wells Scholars class," said Dennis Groth, IU Bloomington vice provost for undergraduate education. "The remarkable academic and service contributions they have made during their high school careers will prepare them for the excellent programs and experiences that await at Indiana University. Likewise, the university will be enriched by their efforts and achievements for years to come."

The scholarship, created in honor of the late IU Chancellor Herman B Wells, ranks among the most competitive and prestigious awards offered by any American university. Wells Scholars have gone on to win more than 80 national and international scholarships, fellowships and grants, such as the Rhodes, Truman, Marshall, Soros, Mitchell, Churchill, Gates Cambridge, Hertz, Luce, Beinecke, Fulbright and Goldwater.

Today, many Wells Scholars alumni are studying or working in Indiana, throughout the country and overseas in medicine, business, education, law, the arts and other fields.

On his 90th birthday, Chancellor Wells was officially presented with the prestigious scholarship program as a gift from his many friends and admirers. Since his death in the spring of 2000, this community of talented and dedicated young scholars has remained a permanent legacy of his educational vision.

Incoming freshman Wells Scholars receive full tuition and course-related fees, as well as a living stipend, for four years of undergraduate study on the Bloomington campus. Scholars may choose to spend up to one of those years studying abroad. Newly named recipients who are already students at IU receive tuition, fees and a stipend for their remaining undergraduate years. Wells Scholars hold named scholarships within the program that honor donors or those donors designate.

The Wells program also offers special seminars; support for a summer research or service project, creative activity or internship; and a wide range of extracurricular events and activities. The Wells program emphasizes close interaction with faculty, academic and career advising, opportunities for public service and contact with distinguished visitors.

The 18 new Wells Scholars and their hometowns are:

• Katharine Adams, Louisville, Ky.
• Jonah Andreatta, Lexington, Ky.
• Lucy Battersby, Culver, Ind.
• Carmen Carigan, Loveland, Ohio
• Reyan Coskun, Indianapolis
• Tess Fasteen, Louisville, Ky.
• Jackson Gandour, Gulfport, Miss.
• Jessica Gingles, Wake Forest, N.C.
• Margaret Hopkins, Bloomington, Ind.
• Iman Mahoui, Indianapolis
• Luka Marinkovic, Atlanta (originally from Grenoble, France)
• Kaitlynn Milvert, Columbus, Ind.
• Sophia Muston, Indianapolis
• Céline Oberholzer, Winnetka, Ill.
• Kaveet Pandya, Greenwood, Ind.
• Joseph Vaz, Cincinnati
• Maya Wilson-Fernandez, Miami
• Catherine Xu, West Lafayette, Ind.

Freshman Wells Scholars are nominated by their high schools or the IU Office of Admissions and selected for having demonstrated exceptional qualities of character, leadership and distinction both inside and outside the classroom. The class includes several students who are the first from their high schools to receive this prestigious award. Internal Wells Scholars are nominated by IU Bloomington faculty and selected for similar qualities.

Related Links

• Wells Scholars Program