Scholarships Supported by USA Funds Assist Outstanding Indiana Minority Students

Ten Indiana students are starting their first year of college this fall with a little less worry about how they will pay for their higher education, thanks to Sen. Richard Lugar’s Fund for Hoosier Excellence. For the 24th year, the fund has awarded scholarships to outstanding African-American, Native-American and Hispanic high-school seniors from across Indiana.

USA Funds^® recently awarded a $25,000 grant to the endowment fund that supports the Fund for Hoosier Excellence.

The Fund for Hoosier Excellence is a privately funded, nonprofit organization created by U.S. Sen. Lugar, R-Ind., in 1983 to encourage outstanding minority students to excel in school and remain in Indiana as leaders.

“If a student attends an out-of-state college, they are more likely to stay out of state after graduation,” says Lelia Smith, president, Fund for Hoosier Excellence. “Sen. Lugar recognized the need to not only help our brightest minority students attend college, but encourage them to stay in the state and become the leaders of tomorrow.”

By 2007 the Fund for Hoosier Excellence had awarded just over $1.5 million in scholarships to 236 Hoosier students.

To be eligible, students must meet the following criteria:

• Be African American, Hispanic or Native American.
• Attend an Indiana college or university.
• Have a minimum combined critical-reading and math SAT score of 1,000.
• Have a “B” average or higher.

Two students, Desiree Cossyleon and Austin Piech, both of Munster High School, received the four-year, $20,000 scholarships. The following eight students received four-year, $4,000 scholarships:

• Paul Corsaro, Cathedral High School, Indianapolis.
• Matthew DeLeon, Chesterton High School.
• Nicholas Estrada, Mississinewa High School, Gas City.
• Meagan McCann, Ben Davis High School, Indianapolis.
• Christopher Nelson, Lawrence Central High School, Indianapolis.
• Kimberly Sanders, Homestead High School, Ft. Wayne.
• Kara Strass, Huntington North High School.
• Esther Uduehi, Frances Joseph Reitz High School, Evansville.

These scholarship recipients ranked in the top 3 percent of their classes, had an average SAT score of 1,312, and an average grade-point average of 4.23 on a 4.0 scale.

A nonpartisan selection committee evaluates the students based on academic and extracurricular achievement. Past winners of the award have gone on to careers in medicine, engineering, business, and academic life.

The Fund for Hoosier Excellence works not only to help outstanding students pursue their postsecondary-educational goals, but encourages them to stay involved with the program and network with their peers in the program as well. Additionally, Sen. Lugar serves as a mentor to the students.