NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Indiana University Southeast celebrated its scholarship recipients and the donors that made those gifts possible at the annual Scholarship Luncheon on Sunday, Oct. 16.
“Scholarship is vital to the university,” Chancellor Ray Wallace said in his address to attendees. “Our donors’ generosity in supporting these scholarships is benefitting students every day. Many of our students would not be on campus today without that support.”
This fall, IU Southeast awarded 1,126 scholarships worth a total of $1,199,022 to 772 students. Wallace stressed that awarding the gift of an IU Southeast education enables students to reach their full potential and, ultimately, shape the region and the world.
“The future of our community is in this room today,” he said.
Floyd County Circuit Court Judge John Terrance Cody ’74 spoke about being in the fortunate position to give back to his alma mater through scholarship funds. Cody is a benefactor of the J. Terrance and Peggy Cody Scholarship Honoring Jerrol Z. and Alice Miles.
Student speakers Samantha Sharp and Tuan Anh Vu shared stories of how receiving scholarships have helped them pursue their dreams.
Sharp, a 35-year-old Army veteran, spoke of overcoming a childhood in foster care to become the first person in her birth family poised to earn a bachelor’s degree.
“To receive a scholarship based on my academic performance has not only motivated me to complete my degree, but it also has the potential to inspire a whole generation of my family,” she said. “If I can succeed, so can they.”
Vu, a Czech Republic native of Vietnamese descent, spoke of his childhood dream to come to the U.S. and enroll in an American university.
“The financial support of the scholarships I’ve been awarded has enabled me to pick a math minor on top of my finance and economics majors,” he said. “All three areas of study greatly complement each other and will make me a better critical thinker, as well as a more versatile individual.”
