IU picks 25 Wells Scholars

IU recently picked its Wells Scholars for the 2004-2005 academic year, but the names of the winners have not yet been released to the public.\nThis year's recipients include 20 incoming freshmen and one current IU student. \nThe Wells Scholarship, named in honor of the late IU Chancellor Herman B. Wells, ranks among the most competitive and prestigious awards offered by any university. The scholarship is based solely on merit and provides each scholar with full tuition and a living stipend for four years of undergraduate study.\nThe names have not been released because IU is working with media relations to officially announce the winners at the end of June. The new Wells Scholars have been notified.\n"The idea behind the scholarship is to recruit talented students to IU to make it clear to the public that IU is a terrific school to get a great education," said Charlene Brown, associate director of the Wells Scholars Program. "We look for the best and the brightest of Indiana and beyond."\nThe Wells Scholars program relies on a nomination rather than an application process in selecting its scholars. Accredited high schools in Indiana and selected schools from other states are responsible for nominating two seniors for the scholarship. They are encouraged to nominate students who have excelled both academically and in extracurricular activities and have shown leadership in their community.\n"The guidance office at my high school nominated two of us for the program," explained Micah Zeller of Cincinnati. Zeller, a senior majoring in German and philosophy, was selected as a Wells scholar in 2002. "IU chose 50 (nominees) as finalists. We spent a weekend in December (2001) going through group and individual interviews before they settled on 25 people."\nThe program also awards the scholarship to students already enrolled at IU. These students must be nominated by a faculty member and usually have a grade point average in the top 1 percent of students at the University. \nDespite what may seem like a rigorous nomination process, many scholars don't feel overwhelmed.\n"It wasn't too high-pressure," Zeller said. "We met the people in the program and some of the (current) scholars and got a feel of what the school had to offer."\nOnce selected, students are given about four months to decide whether or not they'll accept the scholarship. Most accept because of the benefits and prestige attached to the program. \n"I was thrilled when I found out," said Wells Scholar Kathryn Dickerson, a junior majoring in biochemistry. "My brother was a Wells Scholar, so I knew a lot about the program and how great it was. … It's been an amazing experience." \nIn addition to the financial benefits, the program offers a number of extracurricular activities for its scholars. Weekend workshops, a fall day trip and cookout, a spring retreat for freshmen and the opportunity to meet with distinguished visitors to the University are all included in the scholarship.\n"The activities and opportunities are the best part of the program," Zeller said. "We get to talk to a wide range of people… things like that really set the Wells Scholarship apart from other scholarship programs. It goes above and beyond getting paid to go to school." \nIn the past, Wells Scholars have had the chance to meet with filmmakers, Nobel-Prize winning physicists and writers, Supreme Court Justices and foreign dignitaries. Scholars are also given the option to study abroad for up to one year through IU's overseas study programs and are encouraged to participate in community service.\nRecipients of the scholarship also enjoy the amount of individual attention the program offers to them. Academic and other types of advising are available to Wells scholars through the Honors College.\n"It's really nice to have people in the program who know you personally," Dickerson said. "It's like a built in support system."\nIn order to maintain funding, a Wells scholar is required to complete a minimum of 12 credit hours of course work each semester and must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.4. Freshmen in the program are also required to take a mandatory two semester "Wells seminars."\n-- Contact staff writer Derek Smith at deresmit@indiana.edu.