Mark left on scholars

Most people accept when given the opportunity to be commemorated in stone and granite. Few decline the offer to have a building named in their honor.\n Yet Herman B Wells did exactly that. Faced with countless proposals of the sort, the former IU president and long-time University chancellor adamantly refused, choosing instead to expand on the work he'd done in IU's academic programs.\nIt was understandable that the idea of naming a scholarship in his honor was met with considerable timidity. After all, Wells had declined numerous offers to immortalize his legacy with University developments. He claimed, professor Breon Mitchell said, that his work had only begun.\nBut Wells characteristically surprised them all. \nHe accepted the suggestion with vigor and was present in 1990 to induct the first class of Wells Scholars.\n"They were nervous, yes," said Mitchell, the program's first director and one of its founding influences, of the first class. "I think, though, they knew they were part of something new, something fresh. It was a very exciting time."\nThe four-year award encompasses full tuition costs, room and board and miscellaneous fees. Scholars are also allowed a year of foreign study and a summer experience grant, both subsidized by donations to the program. It is supervised by director and distinguished professor Scott Russell Sanders.\nNever one to boast, Wells attributed his success to, as memoir's title suggests, "being lucky," and encouraged the incoming group of about 20 seniors to take full advantage of what opportunities the scholarship would offer.\nWells extended that bit of luck to me last year when I was awarded the Wells scholarship as a high school senior. Although I had applied to 10 schools, my family's financial situation severely restricted my options; I had no money reserved for college and would have to rely solely on federal aid and scholarships. Reading the program's literature detailing its terms and outlining achievements by former scholars, a cloud of anxiety descended. \nIt seemed just too good to be true.\nI met Wells during the interview process in December. Before the interview weekend, I knew little about him or his contributions to IU. But one weekend on campus changed that. His presence, it seemed, was everywhere.\nThough confined to a wheelchair, the 97-year-old's enthusiasm shattered my apprehension. He seemed genuinely thrilled to meet every potential scholar and was thoroughly interested in speaking with each of us. His feeble appearance belied his true character; shaking his hand at the final dinner reception, his firm grip and eager gaze surprised me. He simply radiated with pride for the University and what it could offer us. \nMeeting the man behind the name ultimately persuaded me to choose IU, and I can't imagine myself anywhere else today. Herman B Wells is remembered as a driving force behind the program's success, though his influence was not always directly imposed.\n"With Dr. Wells, what you saw was what you got," said former scholar James Stevens, who also worked as one of Wells's "houseboys" for two years while attending IU as an undergraduate. "The amazing thing was that what you got was a supremely gregarious, witty, interested and interesting man who rarely missed anything that passed his way. Whether he was watching a football game, or talking with a student, or listening to a string quartet or napping in the afternoon -- he tried to do it intently; he always tried to be, adamantly, 'in the moment.'"\nSince the scholarship's inception in 1990, more than 220 students have been in the program. While on campus, they serve as ambassadors to such distinguished visitors as former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev and South African playwright Athol Fugard. They build houses for Habitat for Humanity on the Honors College Alternative Spring Break. \nThe Wells Program boasts its own community service organization, launched by senior scholar Angel Cabral two years ago. Graduates often emerge as Marshall, Fulbright and Truman Scholars. They enter top-ranked law, medical and graduate programs. \nBut throughout their professional careers, their experiences with IU and the Wells Scholars Program are remembered as "inspirational," said former scholar Andrew Wang.\nNow a student at Harvard Medical School, Wang conceded with Stevens. \n"Dr. Wells made IU what it is today," Wang said. "To his students, he was simply an inspiration"