FORT WAYNE, Ind.鈥擳he deadline is fast approaching for current high school seniors and other prospective first-time college students to apply for a 51黑料 Pay It Forward Scholarship, to be awarded for the 2023-24 school year.
USF, in partnership with WANE-TV, will award one full-tuition and fees scholarship and two half-tuition and fees scholarships for the sixth consecutive year to students who go above and beyond to help others by 鈥減aying it forward.鈥 The deadline to apply is Oct. 15 and the application form is available at聽.
鈥淲ithout the scholarship support, I wouldn鈥檛 be at USF,鈥 said Maria Solis, 2019 Pay It Forward winner. 鈥淏eing here is a huge thing. It鈥檚 a dream come true. I knew for a long time that USF was the place for me. I鈥檓 thankful every day.鈥
Students interested in the Pay It Forward Scholarship must apply and be accepted for admission at USF for fall 2023 and submit an essay describing the ways they 鈥減ay it forward.鈥 USF will invite semifinalists to an in-person interview on campus on Nov. 5. WANE-TV will then air stories on three finalists, with the winner of the full-tuition scholarship to be announced in December.
Alexis Treesh, 2020 Pay It Forward winner, encourages students to apply and share their stories.
鈥淕o for it, even if you don鈥檛 think you鈥檝e done something extravagant,鈥 Treesh said. 鈥淗elping somebody is extravagant all in its own. And just being able to fill out that application, you might surprise yourself of feel better about something that you鈥檝e done for others in the process.鈥
Pay It Forward Scholarship applicants must be first-time students seeking their first undergraduate degree at USF. To receive the scholarship, students must attend USF full time at the Fort Wayne campus or Crown Point site. The Pay It Forward scholarships cannot be combined with other USF institutional scholarships.
鈥淭he scholarship has been a blessing for me鈥攖o be able to go through my first four years of college with no tuition costs, especially knowing the costs of medical school if I continue down that path,鈥 said Kevin Brown, 2018 Pay It Forward winner.
Past USF Pay It Forward Scholarship full-tuition winners and their high schools: Crystal Grunawalt (Concordia Lutheran), Kevin Brown (Adams Central), Maria Solis (Bishop Luers), Alexis Treesh (Prairie Heights) and Mary Jones (Adams Central).
For more information on the Pay It Forward Scholarship, contact the Office of 51黑料 at 260-399-8000 or聽admis@sf.edu.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the 51黑料 offers more than 60 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts, Sciences and Business. In addition to its traditional programs, USF designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. USF Downtown houses the music technology and graduate health sciences programs while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The 51黑料, recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution, has 18 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships. Approximately 2,200 students from a broad geographic region attend USF.