Kelley Scholars are announced

Every year, the Kelley School of Business honors several of the nation's most outstanding incoming freshmen by naming them Kelley Scholars. Each of these students are given full-ride scholarships to IU.\nThe winners this year were Monika Baik of Vadnais Heights, Minn., Andrew Baldwin of Indianapolis, Giovanni Gallo of Carmel, Ind., Kara Howard of Fort Wayne, David Krismanits of Moline, Ill., Kyle McNaught of Greenwood, Ind., Francesca Smith of Chesterton, Ind., and Jessica Wild of Carmel, Ind.\nThe students were chosen after a two-day weekend of interviews in February. Also looked at were their grades, SAT scores, leadership qualities and involvement in the community. This opportunity is something new for the eight students chosen, but not to the University itself. \nThe Kelley Scholars program was started by E.W. Kelley when he donated $23 million to the School of Business in 1997. The scholarship is meant not only to honor these students, but also to entice them to choose IU for their undergraduate studies. In order to be considered for the Kelley Scholars program, the candidates already must be accepted to IU and intend on majoring in business. \nThe students must maintain a 3.5 grade point average and enroll in the Business Honors Program to keep the scholarship, said Katie Paulin, associate director of undergraduate programs at the Kelley School of Business.\nThe students will receive full tuition for four years, a book stipend, free room and board and the opportunity to study overseas if they wish, Paulin said. She estimated the scholarship to be worth about $15,000 per year.\nThis year's Kelley Scholars were chosen out of a group of 170 that met the requirements for the scholarship. Each candidate was required to submit references, an essay and their high school transcripts. Out of this group of 170, only 26 were invited to IU for a full weekend of interviews, banquets and tours. \n"The first day we participated in basic get-to-know-everybody activities," scholarship winner Baik said. "There were several different types of interviews. There were group and individual interviews with faculty members, and a senior Kelley Scholar. We also took several tours to different areas of the campus." \n"It's certainly stressful," Paulin said. "We try to make it as low-stress as possible, though."\nBaik said the weekend was long but enjoyable.\n"The group interviews consisted of a lot of random questions that I wasn't expecting," Baik said. "They really wanted to see how your thought process worked and how well you could respond on your feet, not just how well you present yourself." \nInvolvement in activities in high school and within the community were also important factors in choosing the recipients. \nScholarship winner Wild said she thought her extracurricular activities helped her get the scholarship. She said she was involved in show choir, musicals and DECA, in which she was state treasurer of the Association of Marketing Students, which allows them to act out different business situations in the everyday workplace. \nBaik also had plenty of extra activities. She played the violin and was involved with her school orchestra, as well as being on the tennis team. She said she also worked on several community service projects including tutoring foreign exchange students. \n"They weren't just looking for straight A's," Baik said. "Everyone was unique, and you didn't have to be perfect at everything."\nSome students who were chosen to receive this award were not looking to IU as a first choice for their undergraduate studies. \n"I had looked into IU for their music school, and always kept it on the bottom of my list," Baik said. "I didn't recognize the prestige and importance of this scholarship, since I'm not from Indiana. The scholarship definitely had a big impact on choosing IU." \nOthers, however, planned on attending IU. \nSue Krismanits, mother of scholarship winner David Krismanits, said her son knew what college he wanted to attend.\n"David's first choice was IU with or without the scholarship," Krismanits said.\nWhether they had planned to attend IU, the Kelley Scholars have been given a unique opportunity to study business at one of the most prestigious business schools in the country.