Urban League of Northwest Indiana hosts 19th annual Scholarship Fair – GreatNews.Life
On Thursday, September 25, Urban League of Northwest Indiana hosted its 19th Annual Scholarship Fair. The fair was held in Indiana University (IU) Northwest’s Savannah Fitness Center, where high school students from across Lake, Porter, and La Porte Counties attended the event.
There were over 60 tables hosting representatives from colleges and universities all around the country, as well as booths for sororities and many community partners. This included Indiana University, Purdue University, Howard University, Alabama State University, Delaware State University, and many others. 17 schools were awarding scholarships, with some colleges and universities even granting admissions and awarding scholarships to eligible students on the spot.
Louie Gonzalez, chair for this year’s Urban League board of directors, understands just how challenging it can be for young people to know where to get started.
“We’re providing opportunities for young people, to let them know how it all works in terms of the college process and the admissions process because it can be somewhat complicated,” said Gonzalez. “They had some basic questions, such as how it works in terms of college and university. I strongly encouraged them to introduce themselves to the college representative of the schools that they’re interested in and exchange information, and that’s how they begin the process. Many times it’s that first step, and once they take that first step it makes it a lot easier. It’s very scary and intimidating to make that leap from high school to college. We’re trying to open that door. That’s what we serve as that bridge.”
The event has been hosted at IU Northwest for multiple years now, but this year was the first for Dr. Arrick Jackson, IU Northwest’s new chancellor. He was thrilled at the high turnout.
Over 1,000 students attended last year, and he hopes there will be even more this year. Jackson said they gave out over $11 million last year, and is hoping this year will be even more.
“The goal is to create a financial pathway for students to go to college,” said Jackson. “It is the number one challenge for many students to get over in order to get into college, get their degree, and go down the path of the career that they want to. This event is wonderful. This is much needed in these times today, and once we answer the financial question we then can provide all those student support pieces to create a pathway to success. We have to continue to prove that higher education is very valuable for our society for young people. It is the pathway to great success in this country and around the world.”
Yolanda Davis, vice president community reinvestment act officer at Centier Bank, can remember when the event was still small enough to host it at the Chateau Banquets. Davis has been able to witness the event’s growth firsthand. She emphasized the importance for students to be able to see what is available and to know their options.
“The number one thing to do is to have a conversation. I know that’s really hard for students, but you don’t know until you ask and see what’s available,” said Davis. “I would just tell them to really look out, see what’s good for them, and go and have a conversation. Whether it’s a college, the military, a trade school, or whatever is available for them to come out and seek a school for them in their career path.
Aside from colleges and universities, there were other important groups also present at the fair for students, such as the Gary Police and Fire department. Pam Putzell helped run Invisible “V,” a vendor focusing on voter registration. Putzell has been with Invisible since 2017 and emphasized how important it is to get young people out there in the polls, making their voices heard.
“We’re still going strong, and we’re getting stronger by the month,” said Putzell. “At last year’s event, we did over 80 registrations, so we’re looking forward to see how many we get today.”
Multiple schools awarded scholarships on the spot, with students taking pictures of their awards. Many students signed up for scholarships offered by IU Northwest at the event. Erin Zak, director of admissions at IU Northwest, said that last year they alone awarded around $256,000. This year they are hoping to hit that $300,000 mark.
“It’s really great for the students in the Region to be able to come out and see that they can get an IU degree for a very affordable price,” said Zak. “We’re also going to help make it even more affordable with scholarship opportunities. It’s really awesome that we’re able to help this many students in the community. It’s so good to know that this many people are interested in bettering themselves in the future and going to college – either to us or Ivy Tech Community College or Purdue University Northwest, whichever just makes us really happy.”
Dr. Vanessa McCloud shared, “This scholarship fair provides an opportunity to students to visit with several recruiters and in some cases, leave with a financial commitment that will aid them in furthering their educational and career goals. This event brings students together from Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties and several students attended from Indianapolis and Illinois.”
Please visit urbanleagueofnwi.org to stay up-to-date on Urban League of Northwest Indiana’s services, additional scholarships, and upcoming events.
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